Maya may be projected as PM candidate
national executive committee meeting of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday is likely to project Mayawati as party’s prime ministerial candidate for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“Apart from giving approval to a pre-poll alliance, the executive committee is likely to pass a resolution announcing Mayawati as prime ministerial candidate,” a senior BSP leader said.
A day before the meeting, the BSP leaders and workers launched on Friday a campaign on social media demanding projection of Mayawati as the PM candidate for the 2019 general elections.
“She is the tallest Dalit leader with a pan-India appeal. Though BSP suffered crushing electoral defeats in the 2012 assembly, 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly elections, its support base is still intact as evident from the fact that the party polled 21% vote in the elections,” the BSP leader said.“Also, BSP has organisations in over a one dozen states and have captured seats in the assembly election in these states as well. Her projection as the PM candidate will mobilize the Dalit community in support of the alliance,” he said. Earlier in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections too, the BSP had projected Mayawati as the prime ministerial candidate.
Back then, a cut out of the Parliament was placed on the dais in the state unit office and a slogan -‘haathi Dilli jaiga’ (elephant will march to Delhi) was engraved on the walls of the city.
But BSP secured victory on only 21 seats.
“The scenario has changed in the run up to the 2019 assembly election. The BSP has announced pre-poll alliance with Samajwadi Party to defeat the BJP, which is trying to make inroads into its Dalit vote bank,” said Anant Rao Akela, founder member, BSP.
The executive committee will also discuss the pre-poll alliance of the party with SP in UP, INLD in Haryana and JD (S) in Karnataka. The members of the executive committee will also mull over the proposal for pre-poll alliance with Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where assembly elections are due this year-end.
Mayawati was not keen to join hands with Congress but her bonhomie with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi during the swearing in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy at Bengaluru is likely to break the ice and pave way for an alliance, the BSP leader said.
With a year left for the Lok Sabha polls, the BSP chief also plans to launch a countrywide agitation against the NDA government to mobilize the party cadre.
When BJP plans a grand celebration for completing four years in power the BSP workers will hit the street to highlight the antipeople policies of the central government. The rallies of the Mayawati in UP and other states will be also finalized in the meeting.
Mayawati was re-elected national president of the BSP in the national executive meeting held on August 30, 2014.
In the Saturday meeting, the national executive is likely to again re-elect her as the national president of the party, sources said.
With a few days left for the by-poll on Kairana Lok Sabha and Noorpur assembly seats, the leaders of SP and RLD hope that in the meeting Mayawati will call upon BSP supporters to vote for the alliance candidate as she had done before the by-poll on Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats, paving way for the defeat of the BJP candidates.
BSP state unit president Ramachal Rajbhar said the executive committee meeting will set the agenda for the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
“Behanji (Mayawati) will give instruction to the party leaders regarding the strategy for the coming elections,” said Rajbhar.