BSP to expand support base with 2022 UP assembly polls in mind

NEW DELHI: After failing to retain even a single assembly seat in the recently held Uttar Pradesh assembly poll, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Wednesday told his party leaders to review the loss and stressed on the need for expanding the support base with 2022 state polls in mind.

The BSP chief also reinstated Amroha MP Danish Ali as the leader of the BSP parliamentary party, days ahead of the commencement of the winter session of Parliament.

The meeting of party officebearers, including MPS and MLAS, was held against the backdrop of the BSP losing the Jalalpur seat in Ambedkarnagar district to the Samajwadi Party. This was the first seat the SP wrested from the BSP after the two parties broke the alliance stitched up before the Lok Sabha polls.

Accusing the BJP and the SP of working together to dent the morale of BSP, Mayawati said, “There has been a tacit understanding between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party to weaken the confidence of the BSP ahead of the UP assembly elections. Both these parties secretly shook hands and did not allow the BSP to win a single seat in the bypolls.”

Bypolls were held to fill vacancies created in 12 assembly constituencies after sitting MLAS got elected to the Lok Sabha while another became a state governor. “Both the BJP and the SP are quite afraid of the Dalit-muslim combination and hence they played this trick. The SP also publicised that by giving more tickets to Muslims...,” she said.