Eyes on polls, Mayawati to launch BSP’s Himachal campaign on Nov 6
The BSP is working to emerge as the third alternative in Himachal Pradesh, where the Bhartiya Janta Party and the Congress have been the predominant political forces.
LUCKNOW: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has decided to field its candidates on all the 68 assembly seats in the upcoming Himachal Pradesh elections. To gather support for the party, BSP supremo Mayawati will launch the poll campaign on November 6 with a rally in Shimla.
Sharing more information, Narayan Azad, BSP’s state unit president for Himachal Pradesh, said, “The BSP has decided to contest the Himachal Pradesh assembly election on its own strength. The party will field its candidates on all the 68 assembly seats. We have already announced candidates on 56 seats. The candidates on the remaining 12 seats will be finalised soon.”
The BSP is working to emerge as the third alternative in Himachal Pradesh, where the Bhartiya Janta Party and the Congress have been the predominant political forces. The party aims to enter the contest with an aim to fight for the rights of the weaker sections of the society. According to Azad, the movement launched by the party on public issues has mobilised the BSP cadre in Himachal. He adds that the party will get support from all castes and communities in the assembly election.
However, a look at BSP’s poll record reveals that the party’s foothold has been dwindling in the hill state. In 2007, the BSP was able to secure 7.26% votes and an assembly seat. Five years later, the party’s vote share declined to 1.7% and in 2017, the BSP could only manage 0.5% of votes. The Mayawati-led party was not able to secure even a single seat in 2012 and 2017 assembly elections.
For the upcoming election, to be held in a single phase on November 12, the party has released a list of 40 star campaigners, including the party’s national president Mayawati and its national coordinator Akash Anand.
