Maya cracks the whip after jumbo debacle

“Around 50 people who held positions in the committees have been removed,” he said,“though some of them will be retained. That will be decided in the next few weeks.”

Only Brahm Singh Bidhuri,the state president of BSP,and Gutiar Lal,one of the coordinators,have been retained.

While the party performed reasonably well in the Vidhan Sabha elections last November garnering 14.5 per cent of the vote share and winning two Assembly seats,it received only 5.2 per cent of the total votes polled on May 7.

Uttar Pradesh PWD Minister and Mayawati’s close aide Nasimuddin Siddiqui,who along with Satish Mishra was supervising the overall election strategy of BSP across the country,has also been shifted out of Delhi. According to party sources,he has not yet been assigned any region,though he continues to be in Mayawati’s cabinet. “He was unable to get Muslim votes to the party. Behenji is in fact angry with all members since we also failed to mobilise SC/ST voters,” a party leader said. “The new units will comprise fresh faces.”

During campaigning,Siddiqui was often in Delhi,sharing the stage with the candidates,particularly in Muslim-dominated constituencies like East Delhi,Northeast Delhi and Chandni Chowk,to woo the Muslim voters.

Sources said the party will form new units but Mayawati is not in a hurry. She will closely scan the new members and assign them duties,they said. According to sources,the state leadership has been directed to work towards a total revamp of organisations.

The new in-charge of Delhi is former Uttarakhand in-charge Ram Chandra Tyagi,who has just finished his five-year term in the UP Assembly. On Monday,he conducted several rounds of meetings with the state office-bearers to decide on the party’s plans in Delhi. All members of the various units gathered at a party office in Naraina where the units were dissolved.