Maya blames Cong,BJP for SP victory

Earlier in the day,Mayawati submitted her resignation to Governor B L Joshi. The poll results are not in favour of my party. Thus I submitted my resignation to the Governor,besides recommending the dissolution of the assembly, Mayawati told reporters.

Explaining the reasons for her partys defeat,she said: I hold both the Congress and the BJP responsible for the wrong stands taken by them in this election. Soon after declaration of Assembly polls in the state,the Congress talked about sub-quota for minority within the OBC quota for its political interest and the BJP started protesting against it.

She said the BJP had made attempts to woo the OBC and upper caste voters using this issue for its own political gains. This led to a fear among Muslim voters about the possible return of BJP to power,she added. She further said that Muslims found the Congress weak and the BJP created the impression that it might bag upper caste and OBC votes.

Apart from the Congress,they did not vote for us also and almost 70 per cent of them sided with the SP candidates, she said.

She also said the SPs Muslims candidates bagged parts of upper caste and OBC votes and got elected from the Muslim-dominated constituencies.

Another reason Mayawati cited for BSPs defeat was division of upper caste votes which,according to her,benefited the SP candidates. She said upper caste votes got divided among the BSP,the BJP and the Congress. My party has suffered a great loss, she said.

She claimed her partys Dalit votebank remained with her in this election and this was some solace for her. Despite the Opposition parties special focus on the Hindu and Muslim politics,BSPs Dalit votes remained fully intact. Dalits voted for the BSP candidates and thus they got second positions, she added.

Although she expressed her gratitude to the government officers,including the police,for helping her run the government,she did not offer any congratulation to the SP leadership.

Highlighting her governments achievements,including her efforts to ensure required power generation by the end of 2014,she said she feared her development projects might be put in cold storage now.

After submitting her resignation,it was a different Mayawati who promised reporters to take their every question at her press conference. In the past,Mayawatis press conferences mostly were monologues. Had it been a verdict against my government,we would not have got 80 seats. The BSP would have faced a situation like that of (former Bihar chief minister) Lalu Prasad, she said in reply to a question.

Apart from the BJP and the Congress,she also blamed the media for the poor performance of her party in this election.