Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati maintained suspense over transferring her party’s surplus votes in the Rajya Sabha biennial polls scheduled on Saturday.
"Two more days are left for the election. You should wait for the outcome to know who got my party’s support in the election for the RS,” asserted Mayawati when askd whether the BSP would support the Congress candidate in UP as it had done in Madhya Pradesh.
Mayawati was speaking to media persons at her Mall Avenue residence in lucknow on Thursday afternoon.
The stand taken by the BSP has kept the political circles on ternterhooks. Congress candidate for Rajya Sabha Kapil Sibal is heavily banking on the additional votes of the BSP even as the SP has announced to support his candidature.
The BSP has 80 MlAs in the 403-member Assembly and with 34 first preference votes needed for victory of a candidate, the party can ensure the success of its two nominees with 12 votes to spare.
For Rajya Sabha, the BSP has fielded Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth, while for the legislative Council its candidates are Atar Singh Rao, Dinesh Chandra and Suresh Kashyap.
In the Council, where 29 votes are needed for
victory of a candidate, the BSP has fielded three candidates and is short of seven votes for the success of its third nominee.
Uncertainty prevails over the outcome of the polling as apprehension of cross-voting by almost all parties are rife. Since the Council polling witnesses secret voting, it would be hard to assess who voted for whom. But for the Rajya Sabha, the voting is open and the members have to show their preference to the agents.