Setting aside speculations that Bahujan Samaj Party would distance itself from the Samajwadi Party after the defeat of its candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections, party chief Mayawati on Saturday said that efforts of the Bharatiya Janata Party to create a rift in Opposition unity would never succeed. Addressing mediapersons in lucknow on Saturday, Mayawati said that her party would now focus on strengthening the organisation and made it clear that the party would not contest any bypoll in the country even now. She also suspended MlA Anil Singh for cross-voting in favour of BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha poll to serve his “business interests”.
“The BJP indulged in all malpractices and misused power to defeat the BSP candidate in the Rajya Sabha election. They had hoped that it would distance BSP from the SP. let me make it clear that we will continue to rally with the SP,” Mayawati asserted. Thanking the SP and the Congress for their cooperation, the BSP chief said, “We got the SP and Congress votes and it was only ‘misuse’ of power by the BJP that led to the defeat of our party candidate.”
Mayawati also pointed out that a grand alliance would be formed by also bringing in Congress on the same platform.
“My party always supported Congress whenever they were in need. An understanding could be made to stitch a grand alliance of major parties to throw out the BJP,” she said.
The BSP chief also thanked Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party’s Dalit MlA Kamlesh Nath Sonkar for supporting her party candidate and assured him that if the BJP tried to harass him, her party would stand by him and thwart any such attempt. Mayawati said that Rashtriya lok Dal’s lone MlA wasted his vote by voting for the BJP, and hence in future, she would rethink of including the party in grand alliance.
Mayawati also reacted to BJP’s comment for her party’s support to the SP. “When BSP and BJP formed a government in UP, BSP was a very good party. Now that we are supporting some other party, we have suddenly turned very bad,” Mayawati said. The BSP chief also blamed the BJP for trying to blackmail her.
“On August 25, 2003, the BJP tried to blackmail me by asking me to continue as Chief Minister in UP and take 20 lok Sabha seats leaving the remaining seats for the BJP,” Mayawati claimed, adding that instead she preferred to resign.
“The people of this country sent the BJP on a 14-year exile after that and now they (BJP) will go to exile forever. They have been misusing Central agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation etc. to frame fabricated charges of corruption against her for parting ways,” claimed Mayawati.
Reacting to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s comment that they avenged their bypoll defeat by winning the Rajya Sabha polls, the BSP chief said that bypoll could not be compared to an election by MlAs.
“Attributing her candidate’s loss also to the absence of incarcerated MlAs of BSP and SP, who were not allowed to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, Mayawati said, “Elsewhere in the country, all jailed MlAs were allowed to vote. But in UP, despite all steps taken by us, Mukhtar Ansari (BSP) and Hari Om Yadav (SP) were not allowed to come and vote by the ruling BJP,” the BSP chief said. Mayawati cautioned Akhilesh Yadav against believing Independent MlA Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya, saying that it also resulted in the BSP candidate’s defeat. “Akhilesh is not very mature in politics and he trusted Raja Bhaiya. With time, he will also know how to deal with such elements,” she asserted.