Yet to decide on attending Ram temple ceremony, says Mayawati; asserts BSP will go it alone in LS polls

Mayawati reiterated that the BSP will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls alone. “With the backing of people from backward communities, Dalits, tribals, Muslims and other religious minorities, we had formed a full majority government in UP in 2007, and that is why we have decided to contest the Lok Sabha polls alone. We will maintain a distance from those who are casteist and believe in communalism… We will work with full strength to help the BSP get a good result in the elections,” the BSP president added.

She also said that because of “cheating” using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), her party has faced some bad results in recent elections. “…Now, there are several voices against EVMs and the system for using them may change anytime,” she said.

15-01-2024-BSP PRESS NOTE-MS MAYAWATI JI PRESS CONFERENCE pic.twitter.com/0FHxMMj8bO

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) January 15, 2024

The former chief minister said her party’s experience with alliances has been that the “BSP has lost more and gained less and that the parties allying with BSP get full gains”. “This is the reason that most parties in the country want to ally with the BSP… Our party can also form a post-poll alliance with a government being formed rightly in the state and Centre with the correct share in the government,” she said.

Targeting Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati said that he tried to mislead people associated with the BSP by “changing his stand on the BSP chief with regard to the INDIA alliance, like a chameleon within a few hours”.

“Last month, I had declared that Akash Anand will be my political successor following which it was being speculated in media that I may soon retire from politics. I want to clarify that it is not the case, and I will continue to work towards strengthening the party till my last breath,” she said.

Mayawati also said that the governments at the Centre and the states “have been hiding their failures” by doing politics in the garb of religion and culture which is resulting in the democracy and the Indian Constitution being weakened. “I would like to appeal to people from Dalit, Backward, Most Backward classes, Muslims and other minorities to strengthen their own party BSP for a life of respect and for improving their livelihood…,” she added.

The BSP chief also said that the people from these communities must take power into their hands to reap the benefits of the Constitution and the legal rights given by Dr B R Ambedkar. “…Congress, BJP and other parties which have casteist, capitalistic, divisive, feudal and communal thinking and ideology don’t want people to stand on their two feet and be independent,” she asserted.

Mayawati said that under a government of such parties, the benefits of reservation to these sections of people – given to them under the Constitution – are not reaching them.