Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, on Saturday, presided over a meeting of the office-bearers of the party, including divisional and zonal in-charges, legislative assembly in-charge and district presidents at the state office-bearers of the party.
Mayawati reviewed the party’s preparations for the civic polls scheduled in November and December this year and the general elections of 2024.
The BSP chief is attempting to revive the party's stronghold, which has been under question since the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election in 2022. The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh directed senior party members of the party to reach out to the masses so that the BSP emerges as a strong competitor of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She directed the party leaders to devote their energy for the success of the party candidates in the upcoming elections to urban local bodies.
“Former MP Mayawati chaired a state-level meeting with senior office-bearers of the party here on Saturday. Senior party leaders were entrusted with new important responsibilities to emerge as a strong competitor of Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the local body elections," a statement released by BSP said.
“Mayawati also addressed party members about the special membership drive of the BSP which has been going on since June 30 this year," the statement further said.
"The opposing parties are relentlessly active in weakening BSP by adopting various tactics," Mayawati underlined.
Last month, the BSP chief had said that the Samajwadi Party had failed to provide tough opposition to the BJP in the state even though the secular forces of Uttar Pradesh had voted against the casteist and communal policies of the ruling party.
She tweeted targeting both the BJP and the SP, "The secular forces of Uttar Pradesh voted against the extreme casteist, communal and anti-public interest policies of the BJP and made the SP the main opposition party here, but the SP is clearly failing to give a tough fight to the BJP. Why? "
Without naming the SP, Mayawati said, “The BSP is not like the parties close to the elite class and business houses and we will work for the poor and unemployed youth’’.
Targeting the BJP, Mayawati said, “The people were taken for a ride with the slogan of ‘achhe din’. She said rampant inflation and unemployment had aggravated the woes of the common people.
Meanwhile, sources in the BSP said the party had decided to contest the Himachal Pradesh assembly election on its own.
The party will field candidates on all 68 assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh. It released the list of 34 candidates on Wednesday.
The BSP is working to emerge as the third alternative in Himachal Pradesh. Mayawati and party’s national coordinator Akash Anand will address a series of rallies in Himachal Pradesh.
In the 2007 assembly election, the BSP had polled 7.26 per cent votes and bagged one seat in Himachal Pradesh. In the 2012 assembly election, its vote share declined to 1.7 per cent and in the 2017 assembly election, it polled just 0.5 per cent votes. It failed to open accounts in 2012 and 2017 assembly elections.
The 2022 assembly election will be a challenge for Akash Anand to regain the lost base of the party in Himachal Pradesh.
Akash Anand, who is BSP chief Mayawati’s nephew, has been entrusted with the task of gearing up the party cadre for the assembly election and restructuring the party organisation in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The hill state will go to polls on November 12 while the assembly election in Gujarat is likely to be held at the year's end. The assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are due in October next year.