BSP to fight alone in Gujarat

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Mayawati on Saturday made it clear that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would not have any truck with any party during the forthcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Mayawati on Saturday made it clear that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would not have any truck with any party during the forthcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat.

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Addressing a press conference ahead of Sunday’s BSP rally here, Mayawati declared her party would contest all the 182 seats in the state. The BSP currently has no representative in the 182 member Gujarat Assembly.

Asked if the BSP may end benefiting some party by splitting votes, she hinted that such a situation is not her concern. She avoided giving a direct answer to a question on whether dissidents from the ruling BJP would be welcomed in her party. However, she said the BSP is a party for those who have not got justice elsewhere.

Mayawati said the BSP has tried to unite all castes and creeds in Uttar Pradesh and would strive to bring benefits to all sections, including the economically backward among the upper castes. She urged the Centre to amend the Constitution to provide reservation to the poor among the upper castes.

She demanded that the Centre also takes steps to ensure job quotas in the private sector. The UP chief minister said the government could bargain for this in exchange for providing facilities to the private sector. She said the UP government has already implemented a scheme for providing facilities to private investors on condition of quotas for SC/STs, OBCs and the poor among upper castes.