It's Maya vs Sonia in UP | Sonia rally denied

POWERPLAY: Mayawati has denied Sonia a permission to hold a rally in Rae Bareli.

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New Delhi: The battle lines are clearly drawn between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.

Mayawati has denied Sonia a permission to hold a rally in Rae Bareli citing a violation of laid down procedure.

Earlier, Mayawati had withdrawn land meant for the setting up of a rail coach factory in the area, which was stayed by the Allahabad High Court.

Now the matter has now snowballed into a full blown political war between the Congress and the BSP.

"We are extremely grateful to the honourable High Court of Allahabad for giving a stay order to a very injudicious cancellation of the land allotment," Digvijay Singh, All India Congress Committee General Secretary in-charge of UP, said.

This kind of vicious powerplay was not seen even at the height of the cold war between Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Sonia.

Mulayam always avoided the Congress bastions of Rai Bareli and Amethi.

But realising that Congress and SP were finding it difficult to seal a seat sharing agreement, Mayawati is challenging Sonia.

Riding a rainbow alliance of Dalit and Brahmins, she now has her eyes fixed on the 15 per cent minority vote bank of the state.

So over the next few weeks, she wants to hold rallies of her own in the Gandhi bastion.

"This was a project meant for the development of UP. Politics should not interfere. Every body is committed for development. Mayawati has taken a decision against all norms," Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said.

In the run up to the trust vote on the Indo-US nuclear deal, it was Mayawati who had emerged as the leader of the rebel brigade out to dislodge the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government.

While that mission may have failed, she is hell bent on making life as difficult as possible for the Congress President.