BSP Chief Mayawati has said that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections keeping in mind the current political situation, on Wednesday, 20 March, reported ANI.
However, the BSP supremo, who forged an alliance with the SP and the RLD in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, said the option to contest a parliamentary by-election later is always there.
"Our coalition is doing good. I can vacate a seat and contest for the Lok Sabha later if I want," Mayawati said, adding that she will only focus on election campaigning. She also said she would be “happy if the next prime minister is from Uttar Pradesh.”
This comes a day after Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted ‘Saathi,’ a symbol of the alliance between SP and BSP.
Both Akhilesh and Mayawati on Monday, 18 March, brushed aside the Congress’ offer of seven seats to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Mayawati in her tweets, snubbed the Congress and said, “Congress is free to contest all 80 seats of UP and our alliance is perfectly capable of defeating the BJP on its own.”
Stressing that her party has no interest to tie-up with Congress, in Uttar Pradesh or from anywhere in India, she said, “Our people should not fall into the trap of Congress's daily lies and attempts to create confusion."
Meanwhile, Akhilesh said the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh is capable of defeating the BJP in the state, and that Congress must refrain from creating any confusion, reported ANI.
The Congress on Sunday, 17 March, announced it will not contest on seven seats in UP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and leave them for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the state.
“We are leaving seven seats vacant for SP, BSP and RLD. These include Mainpuri, Kannauj, Firozabad and whatever seats Mayawati ji and RLD's Jayant ji and Ajit Singh contest from,” UP Congress Chief Raj Babbar announced while addressing the media.
(With inputs from ANI)
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