Mayawati reiterates BSP will vote for BJP
BSP chief Mayawati on Monday reiterated her stand on supporting candidates from BJP or any other party to defeat Samajwadi Party (SP) in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh MLC elections.
"I had said that even if we have to give the vote to any other candidate even he or she is from BJP or any other party in the upcoming MLC elections in the state to give reply to SP for its 'anti-Dalit' actions. We can support candidates of other parties but will not let the SP candidate win. BSP stands by its statement," the BSP chief said.
"However, Congress and SP are manipulating my statement for their own interest to cut Muslim people away from the BSP and to ensure that Muslims do not vote for BSP in by-polls on the seven seats," she said.
The development comes days after Mayawati expelled seven party MLAs after they defected to the Samajwadi Party camp. Last week, as many as six BSP MLAs reportedly met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, dropping hints that they may switch sides. According to reports, five of the group of rebels had earlier filed an affidavit wherein the MLAs stated that their signatures on the party candidate Ramji Gautam’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls had been forged.
The MLAs who withdrew support are Aslam Rainey, Hakim Lal Bind, Har Govind Bhargava, Mujtaba Siddiqui, and Aslam Ali Choudhary. Sushma Patel, another BSP MLA, also met Akhilesh Yadav at his party office.
The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly comprises 403 chairs. The effective strength of the Assembly stands at 395 MLAs. While the ruling BJP has 304 members, the Samajwadi Party and BSP have 48 and 18 MLAs, respectively.
Elections to 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats are due to be held later this year. The seats -- 5 MLCs from graduates' constituency and 6 MLCs from teachers' constituency, fell vacant in May. The Election Commission couldn't conduct elections because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
