Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party had resorted to malpractices to ensure that their candidate won the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, ANI reported. “They exerted all their force to ensure that the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate [Bhim Rao Ambedkar] does not win,” she said.
Ambedkar lost to Anil Agarwal, an independent candidate backed by the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh. Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Anil Singh said he had voted for Agarwal.
Mayawati on Saturday said Singh had been suspended for cross-voting, PTI reported. She claimed that “an atmosphere of fear” was responsible for the cross-voting.
Mayawati said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP National President Amit Shah “used the system” to make their candidates win. The BJP won nine out of the ten seats up for grabs in the Rajya Sabha elections.
“This immoral victory cannot make up for their defeat in [the bye-elections in] Gorakhpur and Phulpur,” Mayawati added. She further alleged that the alliance between the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party would not be affected by her party’s loss. “I would like to tell the BJP and company that their malpractices will not succeed in breaking the ties between Samajwadi Party and the BSP,” Mayawati said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee backed Mayawati’s claims. In a tweet, Banerjee said, “I welcome the views expressed by Mayawati today. We are strongly with her and [Samajwadi Party chief] Akhilesh Yadav in this mission for the nation.”
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