A day after BJP retained the Gola Gokarannath Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh by defeating Samajwadi Party (SP) in the bipolar contest, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati in a caustic tweet on Monday hit out at the SP for “failing to defeat the BJP” and questioned if the largest Opposition party in the state Assembly could pose a formidable challenge to the ruling BJP in the upcoming by-elections in Mainpuri and Rampur. Both the BSP and the Congress had stayed away from the bypoll in Gola Gokarannath, paving the way for a straight contest between the BJP and the SP. "Gola Gokarnnath Assembly by-election is in a lot of discussions. It is more so because of the SP's defeat by 34,298 votes than the BJP's victory. When the BSP mostly does not contest by-elections and was not in the fray here too, what new excuse will the SP make for its defeat,” the BSP chief asked. 1. यूपी के खीरी का गोला गोकर्णनाथ विधानसभा उपचुनाव भाजपा की जीत से ज्यादा सपा की 34,298 वोटों से करारी हार के लिए काफी चर्चाओं में है। बीएसपी जब अधिकांशतः उपचुनाव नहीं लड़ती है और यहाँ भी चुनाव मैदान में नहीं थी, तो अब सपा अपनी इस हार के लिए कौन सा नया बहाना बनाएगी? 1/2 — Mayawati (@Mayawati) November 7, 2022 “Now, the by-elections to Mainpuri Lok Sabha and Rampur Assembly seats are scheduled next month. Just like in Azamgarh, the SP faces the challenge of retaining these seats. It has to be seen whether the SP will be able to win these seats again by defeating the BJP or will it be proved again that it is not able to defeat the BJP,” Mayawati added. In Azamgarh Lok Sabha bypoll, the SP failed to retain the seat that was vacated by party chief Akhilesh Yadav. BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua defeated SP candidate and Akhilesh's cousin Dharmendra Yadav by just 8,000 votes. BSP candidate Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali polled 2.66 lakh votes and effectively ended Dharmendra Yadav’s chances. The SP had then blamed BSP for ensuring BJP's victory. But Mayawati claimed the poll results “showed that only the BSP has theoretical and ground strength to defeat the BJP” and the party would keep reaching out to Muslims “for a much-awaited political change in the state”. Mayawati's latest salvo at the SP is rooted on the same line. By questioning SP's “ability to take on the BJP”, she is basically sending a message to the minority community to recalibrate their support for the SP. The BSP, which ruled Uttar Pradesh a decade ago, was decimated in the Assembly elections held earlier this year – it won only one seat in the 403-strong Assembly. Therefore, the BSP, which still has substantial voters among Dalits in the state, is keen to add Muslim votes to its kitty for its political revival. Sources in the BSP, however, said that Mayawati may not field candidates in the upcoming by-elections in Rampur Assembly and Mainpuri Lok Sabha seats. And there is a political game plan behind it. “Not contesting these upcoming bypolls is a well-planned move of our party president Mayawati. She wants to make these elections a straight fight between the BJP and SP. If SP loses, then it will send a message to the Muslim voters that the SP is not able to defeat the BJP, and they should shift their electoral allegiance to the BSP if they want to remove the BJP from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” a BSP functionary told The Indian Express. Not long ago, the BSP and SP stitched together an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, after the alliance failed to stop the BJP from returning to power in the country, the two parties fell out. In the Assembly elections held in March this year, both the parties fought separately. While SP emerged as the largest opposition party, it failed to stop the BJP's juggernaut. SP chief Akhilesh and other leaders of his party have been accusing the BSP of helping the BJP defeat them by dividing secular votes. The accusation became shriller after the SP lost in the Azamgarh bypoll. Now, the biggest challenge before the SP is the upcoming by-elections in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat and Rampur Assembly seat on December 5. Mainpuri Lok Sabha fell vacant after the death of SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. On the other hand, Rampur Assembly seat fell vacant after the incumbent SP MLA Azam Khan was disqualified following his conviction in a hate speech case. The SP has not won a single bypoll since the Assembly elections when it won 111 seats. “In the latest tweets, Mayawati has written about possible SP’s win or defeat against the BJP. She has not said that SP or BJP both will lose against any third political party. That indicates that she is not going to field candidates in both the upcoming bypolls,” a BSP leader said. However, BSP spokesperson Dharamveer Chaudhary said that no such decision has been taken by the party. “There is enough time to take a decision whether to contest the bypoll or not. Whatever decision the party national president (Mayawati) will take, that will be followed by all the workers,” the spokesperson said.
