Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Chief of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati released a press statement on Tuesday to confirm that there would be no tie-up with the Congress party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The BSP leader made the statement for both her party BSP and her election ally Samajwadi Party (SP).
The BSP statement reads, “In the meeting it was reiterated once again that the BSP will not go for any electoral understanding with the Congress in any state.”
The BSP and the SP buried their long standing rivalry and formed an alliance to take on the ruling BJP government in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha election in April-May this year, Mayawati’s was firm to keep the Congress out.
She said it was because it had been seen during past tie-ups that the Congress had failed to transfer its votes to the BSP, she said, “We see no benefit from tying up with the Congress.”
SP leader Akhilesh Yadav tied up with the Congress in the state election in 2017, which resulted in a disastrous result for both.
However the SP-BSP claim that the Congress is a part of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand) alliance, therefore they won’t field any candidates in the Congress stronghold Amethi and Raebareli.
Mayawati was upset with the Congress because there was no pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the BSP during the state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in December 2018.