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BSP looking for first Delhi Lok Sabha seat
With candidates for all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi announced, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is set to upset poll calculations of Congress and BJP. However, it will be Congress that would bear the brunt of BSP's growth over the last few years as the parties share a common vote bank.
With candidates for all seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi announced, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is set to upset poll calculations of Congress and BJP. However, it will be Congress that would bear the brunt of BSP's growth over the last few years as the parties share a common vote bank.
Party chief Mayawati has planned intensive campaigns for Delhi to increase the vote share of the party and to possibly win a seat this time. A BSP leader said that "Behenji" would start electioneering later this week in the Capital.
In the assembly elections held late last year, the BSP managed to poll 5.67 per cent votes despite fielding only 40 candidates. "Our share would have crossed 10 per cent had we fielded candidates in all 70 seats," claimed BSP’s Sudir Goel.
The three seats which BSP is eyeing this time are Outer, East and Karol Bagh. In 1999, the party candidate got 42,000 votes in Outer and close to 40,000 in East. "This time the tally of our votes would easily be over a lakh in both these constituencies," claimed a BSP leader.
Senior Congress leaders fear that BSP's growth has been entirely at the cost of their party. "Even if BSP repeats its assembly elections performance, the prospects of Congress candidates in East, Outer and Karol Bagh would be adversely affected," said a senior leader.
