The opposition parties which have been gunning for the chief minister for encouraging corruption, have got a big handle in the election campaign and the entire opposition is united in the state in condemning the derogatory statements made by her against the WikiLeaks owner as also against media in general for publishing the exposures. All the parties have decided to make use of this WikiLeaks issue in their respective election campaign and it is certain that the BSP’s plans so far of galvanizing the electioneering have got a setback.

Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav said that WikiLeaks exposure had damaged the image of Uttar Pradesh all over the world. He mentioned that there was a time when USA had termed Mayawati as one of the most powerful women in the world and now they are calling her corrupt. Commenting on the chief minister’s uncivilized reaction on the reports, SP spokesman Rajendra Choudhry said that it exposed the authoritarian streaks in Mayawati. He said that instead of taking action against Satish Mishra and the cabinet secretary, she was giving all bogus statements as if she had lost ground in the state.

Senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra in the course of his election meeting in Rambhai Nagar in Sikandra constituency raised the issue of the special plane being used by the chief minister to bring sandal from Mumbai as disclosed by WikiLeaks. Mishra said that in a state like UP where majority of people are not getting two meals a day, the chief minister was so insensitive that a sandal was brought by a plane at a cost of Rs. ten lakh from state coffers.

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi condemned the behaviour of Mayawati who demanded that the WikiLeaks owner be sent to mental asylum. He said that the BJP would certainly make a big issue of this in the forthcoming assembly polls in the state. UP Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi said that the chief minister’s statements made it clear that she has lost senses and she is apprehending big trouble in her party.