UP: Why’s BSP chief Mayawati breaking ranks with Opposition to be soft on BJP?

LUCKNOW: It didn't come as a surprise when BSP chief Mayawati directed her six MLAs to vote against the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan -- a government she had extended outside support to when it was formed less than two years ago -- in case of a floor test.
Although her ties with the Congress are on a downswing since the 2018 assembly elections in MP and Rajasthan when the grand old party kept her waiting for a tie-up and eventually dumped BSP, of late she has almost broken ranks with the opposition to back the BJP-led Central government on issues like stand-off with China. At the same time, she is belligerent towards Congress, especially Rajasthan CM Gehlot, who she accuses of 'stealing her MLAs' and has demanded the President's Rule in Rajasthan.
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Explaining her party’s decision to issue a whip to its Rajathan MLAs, all of whom defected to Congress in September 2019 and are unlikely to follow the party diktat, Mayawati on Tuesday said: “Chori ka saman chori hone par shor macha rahe hein (They are screaming after what they stole has been stolen by another). There was a conspiracy against BSP in Rajasthan in which Gehlot was involved. If the MLAs do not follow our directions, we will take the matter of their disqualification to the Supreme Court,” she said in apparent reference to Sachin Pilot's revolt, calling Congress the original thief and asking why the party high command was quiet about it.

"BSP has taken this decision after being cheated by Congress multiple times and whether their government stays or not, will be directly Congress’ fault," she said. Mayawati also addressed the criticism of her party for indirectly supporting BJP but before she reminded Congress of her support to its government, she said that as a national party, whichever party BSP aligned with, even if it was BJP, it would be for the benefit of her party and the Dalit movement.
In 2018, BSP and Congress were exploring the possibility of contesting assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, together but the deal never went through. Despite this, BSP supported the Congress in all states where it won in forming the government, saying that it was doing so to keep “communal forces out of power”.
However, in the middle of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BSP candidate contesting against Jyotiraditya Scindia in GUna joined Congress, followed by all six BSP MLAs in Rajasthan moving to Congress in September 2019, leaving a very bitter Mayawati in their wake.
Mayawati’s attack against Congress has intensified over the past few months, with party insiders pointing out that in most states, the two parties share the same vote bank. “Even when there was a scope for a tie-up between them, like the 2018 assembly elections, Congress kept BSP hanging and refused to accede to any of Mayawati’s demands. Now, we are at a point that even if BJP does something wrong, Mayawati will either hold Congress guilty for it or just lightly admonish BJP,” said a senior BSP member. In June, while India and China clashed at the border, Mayawati said that her party would always side with the government on issues related to the country's welfare and security and that decisions regarding the country’s security should be left to the government. On the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which Mayawati has appeared to be largely satisfied with the Centre’s response, she had once asked Opposition parties to “show maturity” and work together with the Centre for the world to see.
When the migrant crisis erupted, as lakhs lost jobs during the Covid-19 lockdown and many of them started heading to their home states on foot, Mayawati blames Congress for the situation. From a bitter battle against the ruling party in 2018 when it contested the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the BSP chief has come a long way, having said that she will not criticise the government for the sake of criticism and will provide issue based support to it.
“We have never contested an election with BJP because our ideologies are different. Contesting elections and forming a government together are two different things,” she said in June this year, holding the failure of Congress as the reason for the formation of BSP.
Criticism of BJP is not absent, but often ends with an “advice” to its government to take corrective measures, “There is no longer any stinging criticism of BJP. Mayawati mostly expresses her opinion on an issue through tweets which give the impression that she is still in the Opposition but rarely do they actually hit out at the government,” said a party insider. She has been quiet about the law and order situation in UP and when she tweeted about it, she came with an advice to follow her.
"Mayawati's BSP has run a government in tie-up with the BJP thrice in the past but has never had a pre poll alliance. On the other hand, BSP and Congress have contested together once in the past but have never run a government together in UP. Besides, her tie-up with the other leading party, SP, has already ended on a bitter note. So maybe she wants to keep BJP in good humour to keep her chances in 2022 elections alive," says a political analyst.