Burying the over-two-decade-long hatchet with the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati on Saturday announced a mega alliance, delivering the first opposition front to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha election due by May.
That times have changed was evident from the missing photos of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati’s mentor Kanshiram from the hoarding behind the dais at the venue of the joint SP-BSP press conference.
The announcement of the alliance comes ahead of Mayawati’s birthday on January 15. On that day, Mayawati and Akhilesh are expected to share the stage to give out a message of unity among their respective cadres.
Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav, also shares her birthday with Mayawati.
“This press conference will give ‘guru and chela’ (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah) sleepless nights. We will contest the 2019 elections in alliance. This will be a new political revolution. We have buried the hatchet and decided to come together. We have decided to prioritise national interest, putting behind the incident — the state Guest House incident of June 2, 1995 — so that the BJP is not able to form the government this time,” Mayawati said in the joint press conference she addressed along with Akhilesh Yadav here on Saturday.
Mayawati said even as there was no alliance with the Congress, both the parties had decided not to field candidates from Amethi and Rae Bareli, represented by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, respectively.
Both the SP and the BSP would contest 38 seats each and they have left two seats out of 80 for smaller allies.
“I have full confidence that just as our alliance defeated the BJP in the Lok Sabha bypolls, we will crush the saffron party in the general elections,” Mayawati said, referring to the BJP’s defeat in the Phulpur, Gorakhpur and Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls in 2018.
On whether it was a “natural alliance”, Mayawati said, “Yeh lamba chaleyga, aagey bhi chaleyga, Lok Sabha chunav ke baad, UP assembly mein bhi yeh sthayee chalega (This will last long, even beyond LS polls and in UP Assembly elections).
Mayawati said that the SP-BSP alliance was not limited to Lok Sabha polls but would continue for UP polls and other elections as well. “This alliance will also continue during the 2022 UP assembly elections and media need not be bothered about the longevity of the alliance,” she said.
While Mayawati openly criticised Congress, a dignified Akhilesh did not say a word against it. This also leaves room for the post-poll alliance of SP-BSP combine with United Progressive Alliance if needed.
“Now, our party has decided not to forge an alliance with Congress anywhere in the country. Looking at our past experience, when it comes to SP and BSP, our votes get consolidated successfully. And that is why we have decided to tie-up with SP. We believe that we will dethrone the BJP at the Centre, provided that the BJP does not go for tampering with EVMs like before. The seat share has also been finalised between SP and BSP,” Mayawati said.
“Our prior experience with Congress has not been good. Our votes get transferred to other parties but not of the Congress. In such a scenario, Congress gains from us but our own (vote) percentage dips. In the last 2017 UP assembly elections, even Samajwadi Party lost due to its alliance with Congress,” the BS chief said.
“Why we didn’t take Congress in alliance? Let me tell you, post-Independence, Congress was at Centre and in many states. Even then corruption, poverty were rampant. Congress and BJP at Centre are two sides of the same coin. Both the parties have made bungling in defence deals during their tenures. Congress lost due to Bofors, BJP will lose because of Rafale,” she said.
She further attacked Congress, saying the grand old party had lost deposit in by-elections.
Mayawati said the SP-BSP alliance was a tie-up of poor, workers, traders, youths, women, backwards, Dalits and religious minorities.
Mayawati also charged the BJP with spending huge money on Shivpal Singh Yadav, who recently floated his Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), to split non-BJP votes and said, “The money will go down the drain. Shivpal Yadav’s party is BJP’s proxy outfit. I request to all the leaders of BSP and SP to beware of the party run by Shivpal and other parties which are run by BJP from background.”
On whether Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav will be contesting the Lok Sabha polls, both said the media would come to know about it in due course of time.
During the press conference at a posh hotel, the supporters of both the parties raised slogans outside the venue. Chants of ‘Darpan jaisa saaf hai janata ka aadesh, maang raha hai desh, ab ke Maya aur Akhilesh’, ‘Akhilesh Yadav-Mayawati zindabaad’ and ‘Bua-Bhatija zindabad’ rent at air.
Mayawati said, “In 1993, then BSP chief Kanshiram and Mulayam Singh Yadav contested together and won the UP polls. The BSP is determined to follow in the footsteps of Dr BR Ambedkar and give the same results this time. We had pursued on the mission of late Kanshi Ram. In 1993, we had got in alliance with Samajwadi Party. Though, it could not last long because of some reasons, including the state Guest House episode. But we have buried the past and decided to come together,” Mayawati said.
Mayawati hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that there was an “undeclared emergency in BJP rule”.
“There was declared emergency during Congress rule, today there is undeclared emergency in BJP rule,” she said.
In March 2018, the two parties had decided to team up for important bypolls to Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats and won at both places. Later the alliance also wrested Kairana Lok Sabha seat and Nurpur assembly seat from the BJP in bypolls.
In 2014, the BJP had won 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh while its ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) had bagged two seats. The Samajwadi Party had won five seats, Congress two, while the BSP drew a blank.