Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday said her party will contest the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab on its own strength.
“BSP will go solo in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab in the 2027 assembly election to prevent the BSP from losing party members’ morale due to the potential losses in seats and vote percentages due to electoral alliances,” she said.
In a meeting held at her Lucknow residence on Tuesday in presence of office bearers from the three states, she reviewed the preparations for Punjab assembly elections.
“The BSP can give hope to the people of the Punjab, those who are unhappy and distressed by the anti-people attitudes of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as well as other parties like Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),” she said.
BSP went solo in the 2022 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. While in Punjab, it had Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) as its alliance, which worked to consolidate rural, farmer, and Dalit voter bases after SAD split from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
In Punjab, the BSP fielded candidates on 20 assembly seats while SAD contested on 97 seats. The party secured victory on one seat, polling 1.77% votes while SAD bagged three seats, polling 18.38% votes. On February 13, 2024, the BSP severed its alliance with the SAD, ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
{{/usCountry}}In Punjab, the BSP fielded candidates on 20 assembly seats while SAD contested on 97 seats. The party secured victory on one seat, polling 1.77% votes while SAD bagged three seats, polling 18.38% votes. On February 13, 2024, the BSP severed its alliance with the SAD, ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
{{/usCountry}}In Uttar Pradesh, the BSP contested the 2022 assembly election on its own strength and faced the worst electoral debacle since its launch in 1984. Mayawati fielded candidates on 403 seats, but managed to win only one seat, polling 12.88% vote while the party candidates forfeited their deposits in 287 assembly seats. After the demise of its lone MLA Umashankar Singh from Rasra assembly seat the party has no representation in the assembly.
In Uttarakhand too, of the 54 seats the BSP fielded its candidate on, it secured victory on two seats, polling 4.82% votes, while the party candidate lost their deposits on 49 seats.
In Tuesday’s review meeting, Mayawati directed the party leaders to strengthen the organisation up to the booth level before the assembly election and emphasised the need to field hardworking and honest candidates in the upcoming assembly elections.
“Full preparations must be made to achieve better results in the upcoming assembly election. We should boldly confront the opposition’s tactics of coercion, bribery, punishment, and discrimination,” she said.
She also asked the party leaders, office bearers, and workers to donate to the party coffer on the occasion of her birthday that will be celebrated as ‘People’s Welfare Day’ on January 15 next year. The financial support must be better than the last time for taking the Ambedkarite caravan and the BSP movement forward, she said.
The BSP chief also directed party leaders to start preparations for a massive show of strength on the occasion of the death anniversary of party founder Kanshi Ram on October 9.