Maya: SP-BSP ties won’t be affected by RS poll result
LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday made it clear that the alliance between her party and the Samajwadi Party will continue despite the defeat of BSP candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar in Rajya Sabha election.
Ambedkar, who was supported by SP and Congress, was defeated by BJP’s Anil Agrawal in a high-voltage Rajya Sabha election for 10th seat on Friday.
“After the loss of BSP candidate in Rajya Sabha election it was being speculated in media that the alliance between BSP and SP will break. But the alliance is very much intact,” Mayawati told media persons here.
“I would like to tell BJP and company that their malpractices will not succeed in breaking the ties between SP and BSP. There will not be an iota of difference in the close understanding between BSP and SP because of the Rajya Sabha results,” said the BSP chief.
“This loss (Rajya Sabha election) cannot be equated with the BJP’s defeat in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-polls. In that election, people directly voted against the BJP. But in Rajya Sabha poll, the state government misused all its power to defeat the BSP candidate,” said Mayawati while dubbing BJP’s victory for the 10th seat as “immoral.”
The BSP chief said the ruling party used money, muscle power and state machinery to win the elections.
“BJP desperately wants the SP-BSP alliance to break before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. But this will not happen,” she said categorically.
She also used the occasion to exonerate Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav from any responsibility related with the infamous ‘State Guest House’ incident that took place in Lucknow on June 2, 1995, in which Mayawati was attacked by Samajwadi Party workers.
“Akhilesh Yadav was not even in politics when the ‘Guest House’ incident took place. So, he cannot be blamed for that incident,” Mayawati asserted, while cornering the BJP on the issue.
“The BJP has appointed OP Singh as DGP (director general of police). He is the same person who was in charge of the Lucknow police when the guest house incident took place,” said Mayawati, while insisting that the BJP has no right to blame others for the guest house incident.
Mayawati also attacked independent MLA from Kunda, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, who on Saturday voted for SP candidate but had tweeted that he was with Akhilesh but not with Mayawati.
“Samajwadi Party must be careful from people like Raja Bhaiyya. It was the then BSP government which taught a perfect lesson to him,” said Mayawati.
It is being speculated that Raja Bhaiyya did not caste his second preference vote to BSP candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha election. Instead, he voted for the BJP candidate Anil Agrawal. The BSP government had put Raja Bhaiyya behind bars when Mayawati was UP chief minister in 2002. Replying to a query, the BSP chief did not rule out the possibility of Congress as part of the BSP-SP alliance in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “I am thankful for the support of Congress and SP whose seven MLAs each voted for the BSP candidate as well as one SBSP MLA Kailash Nath Sonkar, who voted as per his conscience and we will stand by him in case he faces any trouble in future,” she said while reminding that when Congress was in power at the Centre, the BSP had extended outside support to it to check communal forces.” said Mayawati. She also demanded that the 2019 general elections be held through ballot papers in place of EVMs.