Won’t plead for seats to team with Cong: Mayawati

LUCKNOW: After announcing that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would not partner with the Congress in the Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections, BSP chief Mayawati said on Tuesday that she would neither plead for a seatsharing pact nor a pre-poll alliance with the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Paying tribute to BSP founder Kanshi Ram on his 12th death anniversary at the Bahujan Prerna Kendra in New Delhi, Mayawati said: “If the Congress fails to offer respectable number of seats, BSP will contest elections on its own.”

Later, in a message to party workers, Mayawati said she will not bow to pressure tactics or conspiracies by rival parties but continue her efforts to “win the master key to power”.

“The only condition the BSP has put for an alliance is (a) respectable (number of) seats. Instead of stitching an alliance, Congress leaders are following the path of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to malign the image of (the) BSP leadership,” she said.

Earlier this month, Mayawati shut the doors on an alliance with the Congress for assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in a potential setback to the opposition’s effort to put up a united front against the ruling BJP. The announcement came on top of her decision to contest the Chhattisgarh election in partnership with former CM Ajit Jogi’s party She, however,didn’t say a word about her party’s stand in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

On Tuesday, cautioning BSP workers against the designs of rival parties, Mayawati, who held the CM’S post in Uttar Pradesh in four separate terms, said they were trying to to weaken the BSP before the general election.

“BSP members are supporting the movement launched by the party and their only aim is to bring the BSP to power at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. To counter BSP’S progress, rival parties are hatching conspiracies. Instead of retreating, the cadre will face the conspiracy and give a befitting reply to the rivals in Lok Sabha election,” she said.

Attacking the BJP government at the Centre, Mayawati urged party workers to start preparing for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The BSP chief will launch her election campaign in Chhattisgarh by addressing a rally in Bilaspur on October 13. Reacting to Mayawati’s statement, UP Congress Committee president, Raj Babbar said, “She is a respectable leader and national president of a national party. She will never have to beg for an alliance. The Congress’ national leadership respects her and the party will have talks for an alliance with due respect.”