Mid-term elections in the offing: Maya

BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday said she expected a mid-term Lok Sabha polls in the wake of the President returning the Office-of-Profit Bill, which she said had destabilised the UPA government. ‘‘Returning of the Bill has been a major setback for the Manmohan Singh government which has led to its destabilisation,’’ she said. “A number of MPs might be disqualified by the EC with the President returning the Bill and as the maximum number of such members are from the Left, the government might fall,’’ she said.

Charging the UPA government with having failed to live up to the expectations of people, Mayawati said the Congress party in all likelihood would exploit the situation caused by office of profit issue and the proposed reservation for OBCs in institutions of higher learning and go in for a mid-term poll.