Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati is pinning her hopes of strategising her next political move at the divisional workers’ maha rally scheduled in Meerut on Monday.
Two months ago, on the same date, Mayawati had resigned from the Rajya Sabha. Party leaders of western UP are leaving no stone unturned to make the rally a success as it was necessary for the future of BSP and its supremo. The maharally is set to mark the launch of BSP’s campaign for the 2019 lok Sabha poll. For the first time, Mayawati’s brother Anand Kumar and his foreign-educated son Akash would be witnessed at the dais in the maharally on Monday.
Following BSP’s poor performance in the 2017 Assembly polls preceded by its failure to pocket even a single seat in 2014 lok Sabha poll, the Meerut rally is seen as BSP’s first major effort to mobilise cadres and motivate them in Meerut, Moradabad and Saharanpur divisions.
In the 2017 Assembly poll, the party could win only Dholna seat in Ghaziabad. BSP supporters have launched a massive campaign on the social media to mobilise workers for the conference.
Mayawati is also holding regular meetings with party leaders at her official lucknow residence to review preparations. In an invitation sent to the media on Saturday, Mayawati said that the maharally has been conveened to expose the anti-people, anti-poor, anti-farmers and anti-labourers stance of the BJP Government.
She said that BSP supporters from three divisions— Meerut, Saharanpur and Moradabad, would be attending the maharally at Vedvyaspuri on Delhi Road in Meerut on Monday.
Mayawati has already started screening candidates for 80 lok Sabha seats and appointing them as in-charge of lok Sabha constituencies. The candidates have been entrusted with the task of transporting party workers to the rally site on September 18. A BSP leader said that the rally could throw up a surprise announcement of a bigger role to Mayawati’s brother Anand Kumar, who has been appointed BSP’s National vice-president and his son Akash, who returned to the country after completing an MBA course from a foreign university.
“To win over the youths, Mayawati has planned to promote Akash in the organisation and also assign him a bigger role in politics,” he said.
Mayawati, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha on July 18 alleging that she was not allowed to speak on Dalit atrocities in the Upper House, was planning to highlight her sacrifice for the community during her speech.