LUCKNOW - Terming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s rule as “jungle raj”, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi Sunday said the conditions prevailing in the state were paving the way for the party’s revival here.

Joshi was addressing a well-attended rally in Chandausi, about 300 km from here, a party release said.

At the rally, a number of prominent local leaders from the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced their decision to switch loyalties to the Congress.

Addressing the gathering, Joshi criticised Mayawati and her administration for “allowing criminals, anti-social elements and the corrupt to call the shots”.

She hit out at the BSP leadership for criticising the Congress leadership’s visit to Dalit households in villages, sharing a meal with them and spending a night under their roof.

“It was clearly evident that these critics were scared of losing their hold over their so-called Dalit vote bank,” Joshi said.

She also criticised the Mayawati government for “poor execution” of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and “denial of issue of BPL (Below Poverty Line) cards to the poor and the needy”.