Maya alleges misuse of govt machinery
Alleging manipulation and misuse of government machinery to influence the elections for district panchayat chairpersons, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati announced on Monday that her party would not contest the ongoing polls.
Elections for electing district panchayat chairpersons would be held on July 3 in which Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party are in close contest. The ruling BJP has already clinched 17 of the 75 districts unopposed, while the SP has won in one.
In a statement issued in Lucknow on Monday, Mayawati said that had the district panchayat chairperson’s elections been conducted in a transparent manner, the BSP would have definitely fought.
“But rampant horse-trading and misuse of state machinery by the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh has made these elections untenable,” she said.
“In UP, winning the district panchayat election depends on buying and selling and misuse of the government machinery. In this matter, the BJP is using the tactics that the SP used during its regime. This is the reason why we had to part ways with the Samajwadi Party government in 1995. Now the BJP is doing the same, which will result in weakening the roots of democracy,” the BSP chief said.
Mayawati once again reiterated that the news of BSP’s alliance with All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) was wrong and baseless. “Even though we are not contesting district panchayat chairpersons’ elections, we are fully active and are having regular meetings. We are preparing vigorously for the 2022 Assembly elections. All those winning district panchayat chairpersons’ election will switch over to the BSP before the next Assembly polls,” she said.
Claiming that in the 2022 elections, the BSP will form the government formed in UP, Mayawati said, “To save every person in UP, the BSP will have to be brought to power. People of the state want a BSP regime in the state and the BSP will go to polls with the slogan ‘Uttar Pradesh ko bachana hai, bachana hai, sarvjan ko bachana hai, bachana hai, BSP ko satta mein lana hai, zaroor lana hai’ (We need to save Uttar Pradesh and save everyone and bring back BSP to power).
The BSP chief said that the party workers had been instructed that instead of spending their time and energy in the panchayat elections, they focus on strengthening the organisation and widening the party base in society.
“Opposition parties are working as per a planned conspiracy, especially through the media, to spread rumours that the BSP is not active as it should have been for poll preparations so that our workers get discouraged. Ever since the first coronavirus wave subsided, I have been in Lucknow, holding meetings with party men to strengthen the party at every level. But unlike other parties I do not invite the media to show what is being done. Meetings with party men of other states are also being held. Media, which is a strong pillar of democracy, should also not underestimate the BSP,” she added.
The BSP in Uttar Pradesh has been seeing defections and most of its leaders who have switched sides have gone to the Samajwadi Party. The BSP had won only 19 of 403 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections. In Punjab, the party will be contesting the Assembly polls with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a former ally of the BJP.
