EC takes note of Mayawati's sops announcement

The Election Commission has taken note of the announcement made by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati that her government would dole out cash if voted to power, an official said on Monday.

Sources said that the poll panel noted the announcements made by the BSP supremo on her 61st birthday on Sunday and was getting it "scrutinised by experts". 

Additional Chief Electoral Officer (ACEO) of Uttar Pradesh P.K. Pandey confirmed the development and said that action would be taken against the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in light of the laid down norms and guidelines of the Model Code of Conduct.

Mayawati, on her birthday, in an apparent dig at her arch rival Samajwadi Party's (SP) free smartphones, laptops and unemployment allowance, announced that if her party was voted to power instead of all these she would distribute cash to the people in the state. 

The EC this time has tightened the noose around political parties and leaders and has laid down elaborate rules for such announcements and sops.

The parties would now have to explain how they planned to fulfil the promises made by them during the elections. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have taken umbrage to the utterances of the BSP chief and have said that it showed the "desperation" of the Dalit leader to come back to power "at any cost".

Mayawati celebrated her in the state capital here by making these announcements and also releasing the 12th part of her 'Blue Book'. 

She also told her jubilant supporters to "gift" her a "majority government" as a befitting birthday gift.