Will go it alone in Uttarakhand, UP, says Mayawati

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will contest all assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on its own and would not forge a poll alliance with any party, its chief Mayawati announced on Friday.

Mayawati, who turned 65 on Friday, said just like 2007, the BSP will form a government in Uttar Pradesh on its own in 2022. “I have never compromised with principles for the sake of getting power. All BSP workers must unitedly start preparing for these elections,” she said.

The term of the 403-member UP assembly comes to an end in May, 2022 and that of the 70-member Uttarakhand assembly ends in March 2022.

The BSP won no seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. It bagged 19 seats in the 2017 UP assembly polls and 10 in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when it fought in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party. It parted ways with the SP soon after the results were declared.

The BSP leader also urged the Centre to accept all the demands of agitating farmers including repeal of the three farm laws.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, while welcoming the Covid-19 inoculation drive, requested the Centre to provide the vaccine for free to the common man. She said if her party comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, it will ensure that everyone gets the vaccine for free.

She said if that doesn’t happen, the respective states should ensure that people get the vaccine for free.