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Slain baron visited Mayawati on Diwali

Despite change of regime in Uttar Pradesh, Ponty Chadha had remained loyal to former UP chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and her party.

Updated on: Nov 23, 2012, 17:34:37 IST
Hindustan Times | By , Noida
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Despite change of regime in Uttar Pradesh, Ponty Chadha had remained loyal to former UP chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and her party.
A close aide of Chadha said that the liquor baron had personally visited high profile politicians and bureaucrats, including Mayawati at her Gurudwara Rakabganj Road office, a day before Diwali on November 12. He said that Chadha stayed there for 30 minutes in the afternoon.

HT Image
HT Image

According to sources in the liquor business in the state, Chadha always maintained his relationship with leaders of both the parties -- Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

“Even when BSP was the ruling party in UP, Ponty had a very good relationship with the Samajwadi Party. On other issues, both SP and BSP may be at loggerheads, but
one party never opposed other on the issue of allocating any project to Ponty or his company,” said a source.
Not only in Uttar Pradesh, for realizing his business interests, Chadha had a very good relationship with leaders of both the rival parties in Punjab too.
“Ponty always maintained the secrecy of his meeting with a political leader to his arch rivals,” said a source close to Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Everyone, including the security personnel in the office of Mayawati, refused to comment when asked about the visit of Ponty Chadha at her Delhi residence. When HT called at her office, an official, who did not disclose his identity, said, “Many people visit here every day even without prior appointment. We do not know everyone.”

Sources, however, claimed that Chadha was introduced to Mayawati about 15 years ago, when she was the UP chief minister.

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