Mamata Banerjee welcomes Mayawati’s stand on SP-BSP alliance

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday welcomed BSP supremo Mayawati’s statement that the BSP-SP understanding in Uttar Pradesh won’t be affected by the Rajya Sabha poll results in the state. “I welcome the views expressed by Mayawati-ji today. We are strongly with her and @yadavakhilesh in this mission for the nation,” she said in a tweet. The BJP on Friday won the 9 Rajya Sabha seats it contested in UP.

One remaining seat was claimed by the Samajwadi Party. Mayawati alleged the BJP tried to create a rift between the two parties (SP and BSP) by indulging in malpractices to defeat her party candidate. “There will not be an iota of difference in the close understanding between the BSP and the SP because of the Rajya Sabha results yesterday,” Mayawati said at a press conference in Lucknow on Saturday. Her remarks came after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav cancelled the victory celebration for his party nominee Jaya Bachchan to be held in the state capital on Saturday as a sign of solidarity with the BSP whose lone candidate backed by the SP lost in the RS polls.