Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday announced her party’s support to National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and hit out at the Opposition for keeping her out of consultation while deciding on its presidential pick Yashwant Sinha.
“We have decided to support NDA candidate for President Droupadi Murmu and this decision has been taken keeping our party and movement in mind,” Mayawati said at a press conference in Lucknow.
She, however, claimed her party was politically neutral despite extending support for Murmu.
“This decision is neither in support of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and NDA nor against the opposition,” she said.
Former Jharkhand governor Murmu, who filed her nomination for the July 18 presidential election on Friday, is set for a comfortable victory to become the first Adivasi (tribal) and second woman to occupy the post of President.
Claiming that the BSP’s support to the NDA candidate was mainly because the ruling alliance fielded a woman from tribal community, Mayawati hit out at the opposition for not including her party in the consultations for its candidate.
“These opposition parties widely engaged in fake publicity by dubbing the BSP as the ‘B’ team of the BJP,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister. “This has harmed us, especially during this year’s assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. They misled an entire community against the BSP and in favour of the Samajwadi Party. This resulted in BJP’s win. Yet, the opposition has continued with its anti-BSP pitch.”
{{/usCountry}}“These opposition parties widely engaged in fake publicity by dubbing the BSP as the ‘B’ team of the BJP,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister. “This has harmed us, especially during this year’s assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. They misled an entire community against the BSP and in favour of the Samajwadi Party. This resulted in BJP’s win. Yet, the opposition has continued with its anti-BSP pitch.”
{{/usCountry}}Welcoming Mayawati’s announcement, the BJP appealed to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party to follow suit.
“We are thankful to Mayawati ji for taking the good decision of backing NDA’s presidential candidate and would like to appeal to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party too to follow suit,” said Dharampal Singh, Uttar Pradesh minister for minorities welfare.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha has been declared as the joint opposition candidate by parties such as the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Murmu has reached out to opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking their support.
JMM still undecided on support to Murmu
RANCHI: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Saturday deferred its decision on extending support to National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, a party legislator said, adding that chief minister Hemant Soren could meet Union home minister Amit Shah before taking a final call on the issue.
“Today, the party held discussions over a host of issues such as political situation in the country, including in Maharashtra, and the presidential election,” JMM principal general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya told reporters after attending a meeting chaired by party chief Shibu Soren on Saturday. “We still have days before the presidential poll. The party will take a decision at the right time before the polling. It will be in the interest of both the state and the country.”
The JMM was among the 17 opposition parties that nominated former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as their candidate for the July 18 presidential election. However, the party is reconsidering its decision as former Jharkhand governor Murmu, who filed her nomination for the July 18 presidential election on Friday, is set for a comfortable victory to become the first tribal and second woman to occupy the post of President.
“We have certain grievances. The CM will go to Delhi and meet Amit Shah. A decision will be taken after that,” said JMM legislator Nalin Soren. He, however, did not specify the date of CM’s meeting Shah while Bhattacharya denied that any such plan was discussed in the meeting. (HTC)