BSP chief Mayawati asserted that her party had not formed any electoral alliance with Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and Phulpur, seats vacated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya.
She stated, “As per my earlier directive, BSP workers will vote for a candidate who will be in a position to defeat the BJP. There is nothing wrong in it.”
Mayawati further added, “Barring Karnataka, there is no electoral tie-up of the BSP with any political party. In Uttar Pradesh, whenever there will be an electoral alliance of the BSP with SP or any other party, it will not be done stealthily but will be made public.”
Bypolls to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats are set to be held on March 11 while the results will be declared on March 14.
Mayawati admitted to an arrangement of ‘vote transfer’ between BSP and SP lawmakers for the upcoming polls to the Rajya Sabha and the Uttar Pradesh legislative council but refused to call it an “electoral alliance.”
She elaborated, “BSP on its own cannot send anyone to the Rajya Sabha. The SP too does not have the numbers to send two lawmakers to the Rajya Sabha. To ensure the victory of its second candidate, it will need additional votes. Our party after holding deliberations with the SP has decided that our candidate will go to the Rajya Sabha. In return, we will help them in the legislative council elections.”
Polling for 58 Rajya Sabha seats, including 10 from Uttar Pradesh, will be held on March 23.
