BSP supremo Mayawati
In a strong message to the Congress party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday reiterated her statement that her party will contest the upcoming assembly elections with a coalition partner only if it gets a 'respectable number of seats'. “The Bahujan Samaj Party will contest the elections as a part of coalition only if it gets a respectable number of seats,” Mayawati said. “The Bahujan Samaj Party wants to tell Congress leaders giving reactions about an alliance with the BSP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that the same condition applies to Congress as well.”
The states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will go to polls later this year.
Earlier in June, the Congress had stated that it may explore the possibility of an alliance with 'like-minded' parties to counter BJP in Madhya Pradesh. A few days later, Bahujan Samaj Party state president Narmada Prasad Ahirwar dismissed the possibility of a tie-up, saying the party will contest all 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
In May, Mayawati had said her party would join an opposition alliance against the BJP only if it was given a “respectable” number of seats. If not, the party would contest the 2019 General Elections on its own, she had said.
The BSP supremo also said the BJP-led government at the Centre will be remembered for “taking immature decisions” which have led to an increase in incidents of mob lynching, damaged democracy and endangered lives.
“Mob lynching is a deed of narrow-minded BJP members [and] supporters, but they consider it patriotism,” she said. She condemned the lynching of a man in Rajasthan’s Alwar district and said the BJP “won’t be able to take appropriate action in the case”. “Therefore, I request Court to intervene.”
