Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati will not contest the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, party national general secretary Satish Chandra Misrasaid on Tuesday.
Misra said he too will not fight the elections, which are slated to be held in seven phases from February 10.
“I am a member of the Rajya Sabha and Mayawati has to review the poll preparations of the party in three states. We are not contesting assembly election,” he said in a statement.
The party leader’s statement came three days ahead of the release of the notification for the first phase of assembly elections.
Mishra said the party will contest the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on its own and in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab. Top BSP leaders, including Mayawati, will chalk out the poll strategy as well as campaign in the three states, he added.
He expressed confidence that the BSP would win the polls in Uttar Pradesh, whereas the BSP-SAD alliance would form the government in Punjab.
In an earlier statement, Mayawati said that people had made up their minds to bring the BSP to power in Uttar Pradesh despite a few poll surveys claiming that the party was out of the race. “In 2007 too, they had predicted the defeat of the BSP. Again, the BSP would prove all surveys wrong to form a government in UP with a majority,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}In an earlier statement, Mayawati said that people had made up their minds to bring the BSP to power in Uttar Pradesh despite a few poll surveys claiming that the party was out of the race. “In 2007 too, they had predicted the defeat of the BSP. Again, the BSP would prove all surveys wrong to form a government in UP with a majority,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}The party is likely to release the names of candidates for the first phase of polls along with the Election Commission of India’s notification on January 14. Mayawati has already held meetings with party office bearers over the list of candidates in Lucknow, people familiar with the developments said.
On Mayawati’s decision to not contest the polls, SP state unit spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said: “It’s for the BSP to decide who will contest the assembly election. It’s an internal matter of the BSP.”
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that chief minister Yogi Adityanath may contest from Ayodhya and Gorakhpur, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav from Mainpuri, in the upcoming polls.