Mayawati extends support to NDA vice-president candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday announced her support to NDA’s vice-presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar.
She said in a tweet that it was in the "larger public interest" and keeping in view her party's movement that she was supporting Dhankhar.

At the time of announcing her support to NDA's presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu (now the President) Mayawati had cited the same reason, "for the sake of the party's movement."
On Wednesday, she said in a tweet, "It is well known that due to the lack of general consensus between the government and the opposition parties in the election for the country's highest post (that of the President) that the election for it was finally held. Now, it is the same situation again and the election for the post of vice-president will be held on August 6."
She added that BSP, again, has kept in view the larger public interest and its own movement in extending support to Jagdeep Dhankhar.
At a time when the opposition looks divided on former Union minister Margaret Alva's candidature for the vice-presidential election with TMC having decided to abstain, BSP is again siding with the NDA which looks set to win even this one.
Dhankhar is a Jat and the castewise status of Jats vary from state to state. Jats are among the OBCs in nine states, including UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. Mayawati's support to Dhankhar, in this respect, is meant to further the movement of BSP which talks about development of backwards and Dalits.
Also, in the states where BSP has won assembly seats in the past like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and UP, Jats are considered OBCs. That way, her support to Dhankhar is an attempt to drive a message among Jats in these states, where BSP has got active for the coming assembly polls, that the party will support their uplift and development.
BSP's every political decision, after it performed very badly in the UP assembly elections 2022 and revised its strategy, has been guided by the party's formative movement. Mayawati is working to establish BSP as the only party that supports 'Dalits, tribals and backwards' without worrying about the political fallouts of its decision.