Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Friday said that her party was not Bharatiya Janata Party’s “team B” as certain rumours have suggested, ANI reported.
She blamed the Samajwadi Party and media for spreading misinformation during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
“We have gathered feedback from the entire state,” she said. “The casteist media, nasty scheming, constant negative campaigning to mislead Muslims and anti-BJP Hindus have been successful to a large extent. They created a perception that the BSP is a B team of the BJP and is not fighting against it as vigorously as SP is. The truth is entirely the opposite.”
The Bahujan Samaj Party won one seat in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the results of which were declared on Thursday. The Assembly has a total of 403 seats of which the BJP won 255 seats.
“The poll results are opposed to Bahujan Samaj Party’s expectations,” Mayawati said, according to the Hindustan Times. “We should not be discouraged by it. Instead, we should learn from it, introspect and carry forward our party movement, and come back to power.”
She added that only the Bahujan Samaj Party could stop BJP from coming to power the next time.
“...Before 2017, the BJP did not have a good stake in Uttar Pradesh,” she said. “Likewise today, the Congress is also undergoing the same phase as the BJP. The UP election result is a lesson for us to continue putting in efforts.”
The Congress won two seats in Uttar Pradesh.
“The Dalit community, particularly the Jatavs, stood with the BSP,” she said. “The BSP will amend its strategy to make a comeback in state politics.”
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