AMU poll confirms BSP’s suspicions

There are no signs of any rapproachment between the BJP and the BSP in UP, if yesterday’s election in New Delhi, to the governing council of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is anything to go by. The election confirms yet again BSP’s primary suspicion that the BJP rarely supports it if it can get away with it.

There are six members elected to the AMU Court (or Council) from among MPs through secret ballot and the election is held in Parliament. This time, there were eight candidates who contested and the winners were: Noor Banoo (Cong), E. Ahmed (Muslim League), Anwar-ul-Haq (formerly with RJD), Rashid Alvi (BSP) and, Sheila Gautam and Sheeshram Singh Ravi (BJP).

The BJP got 95, but the BSP polled only 64 votes. ‘‘It’s obvious, almost 30 per cent of the BJP members refused to vote in favour of the BSP,’’ says an observer, ‘‘perhaps even more as the BSP must have got votes from other parties too.’’ It is this distrust which has forced Mayawati to never forge a pre-poll alliance with the BJP in UP, her only stronghold — because while her votebank transfers to the BJP unhesitatingly, there are no guarantees of a similar act of reciprocation from the BJP, says a party analyst. ‘‘Where then is the question of seat sharing and alliances at this juncture?’’ he asks.