Mayawati rules out alliance with Congress 'in any state', says SP-BSP tie-up based on mutual respect

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Tuesday dashed any hope the Congress may have had of the BSP and Samajwadi Party including it in its alliance. In fact, she made it clear that the BSP will not ally with the Congress in any state for the Lok Sabha election, let alone the Congress.

“It has been reiterated once again that the Bahujan Samaj Party will not have any alliance with Congress party in any state to contest the upcoming elections,” Mayawati emphasised in a statement.

Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had dealt a massive blow to the Congress when they announced their alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls. The Samajwadi Party  will contest in 37 seats and the BSP in 38 of the the 80-seat Assembly. The  Rashtriya Lok Dal  is also part of the alliance in Uttar Pradesh and will contest in three seats — Mathura, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar.

The Congress had purportedly been hoping that the appointment of Priyanka Gandhi as the Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh East would appeal to the two for chief ministers, but Mayawati has made it clear that the playing the Priyanaka card did not work.

The SP-BSP coalition left the Lok Sabha seats of Rae Bareli and Amethi  for United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, respectively.

On the contrary, Mayawati, in her latest statement, firmly backed the SP-BSP combine, calling it “first and perfect”. She said the alliance was being perceived as a front that can defeat the BJP, one that is based on mutual respect, good intentions and a larger understanding of what matters to people.