BSP to go it alone in Haryana, denies talks with Congress

LUCKNOW : The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will go it alone in the Haryana assembly elections and contest all 90 seats there, the party’s national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra said on Monday. The party will not have an alliance with Congress or any other party, he said.

Mishra said neither BSP chief Mayawati nor the party’s national vice-president Anand Kumar had a meeting with Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja or Congress Legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Lucknow or Delhi. The BSP chief is camping in Delhi for the past three weeks, he said.

On September 6, Mayawati had announced the end of her alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). Addressing office bearers of Haryana state unit, she had alleged that Chautala was putting undue pressure for seats and his attitude as an alliance partner was not good. After consulting party leaders, she had decided to end the alliance. The BSP will contest the assembly election in Haryana on its own strength, she had said.

A senior BSP leader said the Congress had sent feelers to Mayawati for a pre-poll alliance during the Lok Sabha elections. Although the BSP is supporting the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Mayawati rejected the alliance offer. After ‘behanji’ announced end of the alliance with JJP, Congress leaders were hopeful of a tie-up with the BSP, he said.

Addressing party leaders and office bearers at the national executive meeting held in August, Mayawati had attacked the Congress and the BJP. She had cautioned party members that the Congress and the BJP were using all tricks to woo the Dalits and Backwards. People should not be taken for a ride by these national parties, she said.

A political observer SK Singh said before the LS polls, Mayawati had worked on third front formula by allying with regional parties like the Janata Congress Chattisgarh, Janata Dal (Secular), the Samajwadi Party as well Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab-based political parties. After defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, she walked out of the alliance to redraw her strategy.