UP bypolls: Dalit ministers say Mayawati alliance with SP opportunistic
New Delhi: The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party’s decision to support Samajwadi Party in two crucial bypolls in Uttar Pradesh is giving headaches not only to the Congress and the BJP but also the dalit alliance partners in the NDA government.
Two prominent dalit faces in the Union Cabinet Lok Janashakti Party’s Ramvilas Paswan and Republican Party of India(A)’s Ramdas Athawale said the SP-BSP alliance was “opportunistic” and sought to remind Ms Mayawati of the past acrimonious relationship between the two parties.
Union food and consumer affairs minister Ramvilas Paswan said it was an opportunistic alliance and reminded Ms Mayawati of how the SP had blocked a Bill which sought to provide reservation in promotion for government jobs.
“This alliance will not affect the BJP’s prospects in any way,” Mr Paswan told this newspaper.
He added that in India there was no one single dalit leader and in fact “dalits and minorities in the country thought that he (Paswan) is their well wisher and that he is the national leader”.
The SP and BSP had once come together in 1993, the results for which were for all to see, the Union minister said.
On similar lines, Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athavale said: “Mayawati has not taken the correct decision. He further went on to say that dalits in the country were not happy with the decision taken by Ms Mayawati.
Alliances being made by Ms Mayawati are being watched with keen eyes by both Opposition and ruling parties as Dalit votes are seen to be crucial in the 2019 battle. Though she suffered a rout in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Ms Mayawati’s vote share has been intact.
The BSP has already announced a tie-up with the Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka effectively making it a three-cornered fight between the ruling Congress, the BJP and the JD(S)-BSP in the state.
The Congress which had been in alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls was caught off guard when the SP did not accept its offer of contesting one seat each in the byelections to Phulpur and Gorakhpur and instead decided to go with BSP.
