Even as the Tohra loyalists are hoping for an alliance with the BSP on all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, Mayawati quipped, "We are still holding our cards close to the chest." Discounting the possibility of an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), Mayawati said, "There is no question of an alliance with manuwadi parties."

Reiterating her decision to remain equidistant from both the Congress and the BJP, Mayawati said her party will fight on all the 85 Lok Sabha seats in UP alone.

Mayawati, who was here on a personal visit to Khauspura, the native village of Kanshi Ram, demanded the resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes. She accusing him of making "absurd" statements, Mayawati alleged that the BJP was trying to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the region to move public opinion in its favour. "By allowing the situation in Kashmir to get out of hand, the BJP is trying to postpone the Lok Sabha polls," she said.