Maya questions pre-poll survey, targets BJP

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday and alleged that a pre-poll survey by a news channel showing the BJP ahead of other parties in the 2022 UP assembly election was fudged.

She also said that Brahmins were firmly behind the BSP. The four-time former Uttar Pradesh chief minister accused the BJP, which is set to roll out its “prabuddh varg” sammelan (intellectual meets) in UP from Sunday, of copying her party’s model.

“We had launched the prabuddh varg sammelan, the first phase of which ends Saturday but the formal conclusion would happen in Lucknow on September 7. Now, imagine (the party) which is copying the BSP is being shown way ahead in pre-poll projections while the BSP is being shown way behind. That proves that the survey is fudged,” Mayawati said.

“I saw the entire programme. There were panelists from other parties, too, and I was watching their facial expressions and it was evident that they also found the survey findings hard to digest,” Mayawati said while rejecting the survey findings.

“In 2007, despite a clear wave in favour of the BSP, surveys had shown our party as the singlelargest party while we got a majority. I won’t be surprised if our opponents enter into a covert understanding to stop the BSP as they did in 2012. But I would like to make it clear that our people have never believed or backed such surveys,” she said.