Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday announced that the party would go it alone in the upcoming elections this year but also demanded the return of the ballot paper voting system citing "something wrong" with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
During a media briefing, Mayawati confirmed that the BSP would not align with any party for the upcoming elections in various states as the ideology of her party was different from others. She also claimed that Congress and other parties were trying to ally with the BSP.
"BSP won't align with any party in the upcoming elections; we will fight polls on our own. Congress and a few other parties are trying to ally with us but our ideology is different from that of other parties," she said.
She also targeted the opposition and said that the BSP was being stopped from moving forward.
"BSP has formed the government four times in the state (UP), and the party has worked for the public through welfare schemes for poor and needy people. All opposition parties have maintained internal connivance and have come against BSP. Today, the people of all the classes are upset," the BSP leader said.
The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh also demanded return of the ballot paper voting system saying there is "something wrong" with the EVMs.
"Something is wrong with EVMs, some are sabotaging it, during ballot paper time, our number of seats and percentage of votes used to increase in all polls. Polls must be conducted with ballot paper again," Mayawati demanded.
The BSP celebrated party chief Mayawati's 67th birthday on January 15 as Jankalyankari Diwas. Mayawati also released the 18th edition of her work "A Travelogue of My Struggle-ridden Life and BSP Movement" in a programme organised in the party’s state unit office in Mall Avenue here.
The party released a series of songs by Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher, Udit Narayan, Javed Ali and Prince in the run-up to the birthday celebration, acclaiming Mayawati as a fighter for the rights of the deprived community. On this occasion, Mayawati also thanked those who congratulated her on her birthday.