Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) seems to have put the plans of ‘Mahagathbandhan’ in jeopardy. The party has declared that it would contest on all 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The announcement was made by BSP’s Vice President Ramji Gautam.
In the recent Assembly Elections, both BSP and the Congress fought separately in Madhya Pradesh. Ahead of the polls, Mayawati in October declared that BSP would not form a pre-poll alliance with Congress. However, she called the intentions of Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi as “honest”. Later on, BSP extended its support to Congress after elections were declared and Congress fell short of the majority.
She claimed that the decision of extending support to Congress was taken to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power. BSP as a result played a crucial role in the formation of Congress-led Kamal Nath government in the state.
Addressing the media after the election results, she claimed that people voted for Congress just because they saw it as the prime challenger to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. She said that the people did so against their wishes (‘apne dil par patthar rakhkar’).
She also criticized Congress for the sufferings of the poor, Dalits, marginalized and religious minorities under the past governments of the Congress. She further accused Congress of ignoring the path shown by Dalit icon B.R. Aambedkar.
In the 2018 Assembly Polls, BSP won only 2 seats in the state– one in Bhind and another in Patharia. The party won 4 seats in the 2013 Assembly Elections.
After the results of Assembly Polls were announced, Mayawati removed State Head Pradip Ahirwar and State Incharge Ramachal Rajbhar. They were replaced by DP Chaudhary and Ramji Gautam respectively.