Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, who has so far maintained equal distance from the INDIA and NDA coalitions, on Tuesday said that a decision on joining either bloc will be made after the Assembly elections due in four states later this year, to ensure “balance of power”.
Four states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana – as well as Mizoram are going to polls later this year, and the Lok Sabha elections will take place in 2024. After holding a meeting with senior leaders of her party in New Delhi, BSP supremo Mayawati said a decision on joining the governments will be taken after polls in the four states.
In a statement issued by BSP, Mayawati is quoted saying, “For the betterment of marginalised sections and Muslims, it is important that a coalition government obliged to work for the welfare of people (janhit ki majboor sarkar) comes to power, instead of a strong and arrogant government.”
Stating that the BSP had emerged as a “balance of power” in several states in the past, she accused “anti-BSP and casteist elements” of breaking away her party MLAs by “using all types of tactics for their greed of power”, and which “affected the BSP movement”.
The development comes in the backdrop of the Mayawati saying that her party would contest the upcoming Assembly polls alone, and not tie up with anyone, as the intentions and policies of the governments of the BJP and Congress-led alliances have been almost the same from the Dalits, tribals and the marginalised.
Meanwhile, a BSP leader told The Indian Express that the statement by Mayawati shows that the party has no hesitation in joining any of the fronts, and if that happens, it will create a new path for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
When asked which coalition – NDA or INDIA – the party is likely to join, the BSP leader said that the party is not talking about any particular party, and a decision will be taken after emerging as the “balance of power”.