Mayawati blames Muslim vote shift to SP for dismal show
BSP supremo Mayawati blamed the loss of Muslim votes to the Samajwadi Party (SP) for her party’s poor performance in the parliamentary elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the shift of the Muslim vote to the rival Samajwadi Party (SP) was the main reason for the dismal performance of her party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, the BSP chief said the casteist media hatched a conspiracy against her party through sponsored surveys and negative campaigns projecting BSP as the ‘B’ Team of the BJP. The media succeeded in misguiding the Muslims and the anti-BJP Hindu community voters that, in comparison to the BSP, the SP was fighting more solidly against the BJP.
The BSP was not only challenging the might of the BJP in the electoral battlefield but also ideologically, she said, adding, Due to the aggressive anti-Muslim campaign by the BJP, the community voted en bloc to the SP. The anti-BJP Hindu community voters too voted for the SP after the shift of the Muslim vote.
The BSP had fielded 88 Muslim candidates in the UP assembly elections.
“If the Muslims had not been the victim of the rumours, the results of the UP polls would have been different. As time will pass, the Muslim community will repent their decision,” she said.
The Dalit-Muslim alliance would have been able to check the BJP from retaining the power in Uttar Pradesh. The results of the West Bengal assembly election would have been repeated in UP, she added.
During crucial assembly elections, the Muslim community forgot that not SP but BSP can stop BJP from grabbing power in UP. Due to their wrong thinking, the BJP returned to power in UP.
Had there been a three-cornered fight in the assembly election, the BSP would have been able to check BJP, she said.
The Muslim community was with the BSP during the election campaign but didn’t vote for it. The BSP suffered a loss in the assembly election due to the shift in the Muslim vote. Fearing that if SP returns to power, it will unleash jungle raj in UP, the upper caste voters also supported the BJP, she said.
The BSP has been punished in the assembly election due to faith expressed by the Muslims in SP. It’s a bitter lesson for the BSP and the party will now amend its strategy in the next election, she said.
Mayawati asserted that the Dalit community, particularly the Jatav community, supported her party.
“I am proud of the Dalits, who stood with their missionary movement and party leadership. I appeal to the party supporters not to down their morale. The followers of Ambedkar do not lose courage but continue to fight to achieve success, she said.
Despite the worst performance in the assembly elections, the bad days of the party will be over soon. Earlier, the Congress and BJP have also faced a rout in the elections, later they bounced back to capture power. Along with amending its strategy, the BSP will have to spread its base to return to power in UP, she said.
Reacting to the BSP chief’s statement, the SP state unit spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the Muslim community is aware of the fact that the SP government worked for their welfare and launched a movement against the BJP. The SP gave tickets to a large number of Muslim candidates, and a majority of them secured victory, he said.
