Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday accused rival Samajwadi Party of only favouring Yadavs while in power and neglecting other OBCs. Ms. Mayawati also said that while the SP took the votes of Muslims, it neglected the community in ticket distribution and providing them representation in the government.
Mr. Mayawati scathing attack on the SP came on her birthday, as she declared the names of 53 out 58 candidates contesting in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh election. The list includes 14 Muslims and 10 seats reserved for Dalits.
The seats are in Agra, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Baghpat districts where the stakes are especially high for the rival SP-RLD alliance which hopes to capitalise on the farmers’ protest against the Centre.
Ms. Mayawati dismissed the SP’s claim that it was merging socialism with Ambedkarite values. “There is no iota of truth in it the SP’s claims of being Ambedkarwadi (adherents of Ambedkar’s values),” Ms. Mayawati said.
When the SP was in power in U..P, it had changed the names of the districts named by the BSP government after Dalit icons and gurus, Ms. Mayawati recalled.
Meanwhile, the RLD-SP alliance released its second list of candidates with seven fresh names under the RLD symbol. The alliance has so far nominated 10 Muslims in the 36 seats for which it has declared candidates. The two parties have, however, not fielded a single Muslim in Muzaffarnagar district, which witnessed communal violence in 2013.
The BSP, on the other hand, has fielded four Muslims in the district which has a substantial population of Dalits, Muslims and Jats.
PTI adds:
BSP announces candidates for Noida, Dadri, Jewar seats
The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday declared candidates for three assembly constituencies in Gautam Buddh Nagar for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded Kriparam Sharma from Noida, Manveer Singh Bhati from Dadri and Narendra Bhati 'Dada' from Jewar, according to a list shared by the party.
Noida has 6,90,231 voters, while Dadri has 5,86,889 voters and Jewar 3,46,425 voters.
Dadri in Gautam Buddh Nagar district is also the home constituency of BSP supremo Mayawati.
Elections to the three assembly seats, all won by BJP candidates in 2017, are scheduled for February 10. The elections results will be announced on March 10.