Will contest 55-60 seats in Madhya Pradesh polls, says BSP

A BSP leader said that a tie-up with Samajwadi Party would be meaningless as SP has no base in Madhya Pradesh

Updated on: Jun 17, 2018, 23:46:17 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Shruti Tomar

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is planning to contest elections in 55-60 of the 230 seats in the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and is in the process of selecting candidates, according to state party president Narmada Prasad Ahirwar.

BSP leaders said party supremo Mayawati (pictured) has instructed them to be prepared to contest 55-60 seats in Madhya Pradesh. (PTI)

The BSP currently has four seats in the assembly, from the Chambal and Rewa division.

“Behenji (BSP chief Mayawati) has instructed us to be prepared to contest 55-60 seats and we are in the process of identifying them and selecting our candidates,” Ahirwar told reporters on Sunday.

Ahirwar said there was no talk of a pre-poll alliance with the Congress at a time when Opposition parties are in the process of putting together a federal front to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), particularly since the Congress state chief Kamal Nath said last month that the party was trying to bring “like-minded” parties together.

The Congress is the principal Opposition to the ruling BJP in the state.

Ahirwar contended that the Congress had more to gain from an alliance with BSP. “(The) Congress wants to get our share of the vote bank and that is why it is desperate to ally with us... But this misinformation is causing problems for us as it is demotivating our workers,” Ahirwar said.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the BJP had got nearly 45% of the votes case, while the Congress had got 36% and the BSP 6%.

When asked if the party could form an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state on the lines of the tie-up in Uttar Pradesh, Ahirwar said the SP has no base in Madhya Pradesh, and therefore, a tie-up would be meaningless.

When asked about Ahirwar’s comments, state Congress spokesperson Manak Agrawal said: “We are not spreading any rumours. We are only repeating what our national president Rahul Gandhi has said about allying with like-minded parties.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.