Mayawati not to contest Lok Sabha elections

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday said she will not contest the Lok Sabha elections.

“Keeping in mind the current political situation, I have decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections,” Mayawati told the media.

Ater a major show of strength in his hometown Akluj in Maharashtra on Tuesday evening, Ranjitsinh, son of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite-patil, announced he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party tomorrow.

Addressing workers, Ranjitsinh asked: “How long should they tolerate injustice? Now is the time to take the final decision,” amid a roar of approval from his supporters. All of them want Ranjitsinh to contest on a BJP ticket.

He praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in his brief speech.

Earlier this morning, in a tweet he had sought “guidance from the party workers” who have supported the Mohite-patil family for decades, amidst a tussle with his 75-year-old father to grab the NCP Lok Sabha ticket from Madha constituency.

“You tell me what to do: Should we bear with it (‘injustice’), or hit back for our future, progress and development? You decide, and it will be my decision,” Ranjitsinh said, in an emotional build-up to the meeting of his supporters for this evening in Akluj, Solapur.

As per present indications, he will formally join the BJP tomorrow aternoon in the presence of Fadnavis, state party chief Raosaheb Danvepatil and other leaders in Mumbai.

Preparing early for his exit from NCP, late on Monday evening, Ranjitsinh expressed his deepest condolences over passing away of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar, and was later closeted in meeting with state Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan.

Ranjitsinh’s joining the BJP will be the second major shock for the NCP which last week totered on the brink: Parth Ajit Pawar had announced that he would be a contender for Maval Lok Sabha seat.