After poll debacle, Mayawati vows to give Muslims chance only 'after a lot of thought'
In a statement, Mayawati said her party would conduct a deep analysis to find out what led to the debacle.
A day after the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) failed to open its account in the Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati said the Muslim community didn't vote for her party despite getting a substantial representation on the candidates list. She said the community wasn't able to understand her party, and she would give them a chance in elections only after "a lot of thought".
This was not the first time the BSP failed to win any seat in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2014, the party failed to open its account. In 2019, they won 10 seats because they contested the elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party.
In a statement, Mayawati said her party would conduct a deep analysis to figure out the reasons behind its embarrassing performance in Uttar Pradesh.
Expressing displeasure for not getting the support of the Muslim community, who appear to have voted for the INDIA bloc, she said the community wasn't able to understand her.
"The Muslim community, which is an important part of the Bahujan Samaj Party, is not able to understand the BSP properly despite being given proper representation in the past elections and this time also in the Lok Sabha general elections. So, in such a situation, the party will give them a chance in the elections after a lot of thought so that the party does not suffer a huge loss in the future like this time," Mayawati said, per PTI.
The BSP had fielded 35 Muslim candidates.
Mayawati's former ally, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party breached the BJP stronghold as they secured 37 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Their INDIA bloc ally, the Congress, won six Lok Sabha seats, including Rae Bareli and Amethi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had registered landslide victories in the last two general elections, managed to win just 33 seats. Nationally, the party won only 240 seats.
Also read: Election results: How many Muslim candidates won the Lok Sabha polls 2024?
BJP ended up 32 seats short of a simple majority. They won 303 seats in 2019.
In the run-up to the elections, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress had urged Mayawati to join the INDIA bloc. She, however, rejected their overtures.