After discussing the probable candidates from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday discussed the names of candidates for the parliamentary polls with the leaders of Jharkhand.
Four-time chief minister of UP, Mayawati has already announced that her party would keep distance both from Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and INDIA bloc and would go it alone in the coming parliamentary elections.
Apprehending that the Lok Sabha elections may be preponed, Mayawati, is holding meetings with the leaders of various states to discuss party candidates. The BSP chief on Sunday held discussions with the leaders of Jharkhand. She had held a similar meeting with party leaders on Saturday regarding selection of candidates from UP and Uttarakhand.
In a tweet on Sunday evening, the BSP president said that the party was working towards expanding its reach among the masses and alongside strengthening its organisational structure. The party has begun shortlisting candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, the BSP chief added.
Mayawati has asked party leaders to refrain from extravagant campaigns and instead focus on holding cadre camps and small public meetings to expand the party’s outreach in rural pockets and among the ‘sarv samaj’ or people from different communities.
In a state-level meeting held in Lucknow on August 23, the BSP had decided that cadre camps would form a key part of the strategy to strengthen the party base at the grassroots in UP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The party’s graph in the state, where it formed the government four times, has been sliding since 2012. The emphasis, therefore, is to win back its core voters, Dalits, who have moved towards other parties over the years.
Sources revealed that the BSP leaders have been asked to ensure the presence of at least 500 Dalits in every cadre camp. These camps serve to energise the existing force of the party’s foot soldiers and add new cadres by reinforcing the party’s ideology in them. The focus is also on inducting more youths into the party.