BJP, SP have ganged up against BSP in UP, says Mayawati's confidant Satish Mishra
BSP Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Mishra accused the BJP of being hand in glove with the SP in a bid to undermine his party.
With BJP president Amit Shah reiterating that his party's fight is with the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the next year's Uttar Assembly elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has alleged that the other two parties had ganged up against it.
Speaking to India Today Digital, BSP Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Mishra accused the BJP of being hand in glove with the SP in a bid to undermine his party. "However, the two parties realise that they are contesting for the second and third positions in UP," he said.
The BSP claims it is far ahead of both - the BJP and the SP - or even the Congress for that matter. "The SP is facing a major anti-incumbency factor. It is down below? As far as the BJP is concerned, everyone is aware of its anti-Dalit mindset. And the Congress president Sonia Gandhi's Lucknow rally has had zero impact," Mishra claimed, adding that it is too early to assess the effect of campaigning by Sonia's daughter Priyanka Vadra.
BSP VIS-A-VIS BJP, SP, CONGRESS
Mishra claims that the BSP has an edge over the other three rival parties. It has the support not just of the Dalits, Muslims and Brahmins but also the non-Yadav OBCs. While the Dalits constitute 20 per cent of UP's total population, Brahmins form 13 per cent and Muslims are 19 per cent of the state's population.
The BSP is continuing with its strategy of being seen as an all-inclusive party as against the earlier image of it being a political party of the Dalits. Towards that end, BSP supremo Mayawati is holding four public meetings in UP to set the tone for the Assembly elections.
The theme of the four meetings is 'Sarvjan Hitaay, Sarvjan Sukhay' instead of the emphasis only on the Dalits. The first of the four meetings was held on August 21 at Agra, a Dalit-dominated district. The next one is scheduled for August 28 in Azamgarh, a Muslim-dominated area. The third one will be held in Brahmin-Kayastha-dominated Allahabad on September 4 and the last meeting has been planned for September 11 in Muslim-Dalit-dominated Saharanpur.
Hence, this takes care of the BSP's core constituencies.
But what about the desertions, which are not only weakening the party but also painting the BSP in a poor light?
'DESERTERS DEMANDED TICKETS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS'
Senior BSP politician and Leader of Opposition in UP Assembly Swami Prasad Maurya delivered a major jolt to the party by quitting it and alleging that Mayawati auctioned tickets. Maurya, an OBC, recently joined the BJP. Similarly, former BSP Rajya Sabha MP Brajesh Pathak too quit the party to join the BJP.
However, the BSP makes light of these defections. It says they are defections on individual level and will not have any adverse impact on the voters.
In fact, the Mishra, considered to be Mayawati's confidante, launched a counter personal offensive against these defectors. "Both Maurya and Pathak wanted tickets for their close relations besides themselves for the Assembly polls. When Behenji refused, they quit the BSP," said Mishra.
He alleged that Pathak sought tickets for his wife, brother and brother-in-law among others while Maurya had asked for six tickets - including his son, daughter, son-in-law and personal assistant.
Mishra also termed as "absolutely false" the allegations that Mayawati was selling tickets. However, he denied that the party would file any defamation case against those trying to malign Mayawati and the BSP's impression, saying these things are normal in politics.
'WHO IN UP KNOWS SHEILA DIKSHIT IS A BRAHMIN?'
On attempts by the Congress to woo the Brahmins, Mishra said it will come a cropper. "The Congress is projecting its chief ministerial candidate Sheila Dikshit as a Brahmin leader even though no one in UP considers her so. Moreover, we will remind the people how as the Delhi CM, she had said that the people of UP were coming to the national capital and spoiling it," said Mishra.
Though the BSP seems upbeat, the politics in UP is quite complex, particularly in a multi-cornered contest. Initial surveys point towards a hung Assembly with the SP being the single largest party.
The BJP, on the other hand, is bent upon breaking the SP-BSP cycle of power in the State. This comes after the party grabbing 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 general elections. In such a scenario, the BSP may not have a cakewalk, as it thinks it to be.