Priyanka Gandhi Vadra waves at the people, during a roadshow for the UP Assembly elections at Chinhat Bazar, in Lucknow.
Highlights
- Priyanka Gandhi said that BSP has a strong vote bank in Uttar Pradesh
- The BSP last won elections in 2007. In 2012 & 2017, the party won 80 and 19 seats, respectively
UP Election 2022 Latest News: Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has expressed surprise over BSP chief Mayawati's 'absence' from the ongoing assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. In an exclusive chat with India TV, shea said that the BSP has a huge vote bank but she was astonished to see Mayawati staying away from the elections.
"It is actually surprising to see her (Mayawati) rarely campaigning.... BSP has a strong vote bank. Don't know why Mayawati is not campaigning aggressively this time," Priyanka Gandhi said.
When asked whether Congress is open to joining the ranks with other parties after the polls, Priyanka Gandhi didn't categorically ruled out the possibility. "The party will take a call when a situation arises."
She also slammed the rival party leaders, especially the BJP, for distorting Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi's 'bhaiya' remark directed at the people of UP. She said that "all that CM Charanjit Singh Channi said was that Punjab should be run by Punjabis".
This election, Mayawati could be seen keeping herself away from the active campaigning. She addressed the first rally on February 2 in Agra, just a week before the polling in the first phase. The BSP chief had then said that she had been working constantly to strengthen the party and therefore she was not visible.
Notably, the BSP has been losing its ground in the state ever since it lost the elections in 2017 to the Samajwadi Party. According to several opinion polls, the BSP is unlikely to get seats that could be instrumental in installing Mayawati as the CM.
The BSP last won the elections in 2007. In 2017, it managed to win just 19 of the total 403 seats in the Assembly, with a 22.3 per cent vote share.
Mayawati mainly banks on the Dalits voters who comprise about 20 per cent of the population in Uttar Pradesh. Since they are a crucial voting bloc in elections, all the political parties woo them with perks. They overwhelmingly voted in favour of the BJP in 2017, helping the saffron party to deliver a stunning performance by winning 312 seats.
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