Mayawati targets BJP, says one year of Yogi government is no reason to celebrate

New Delhi: Bolstered by the recent results of by-elections in Gorakhpur and Phulpur where BJP surrendered to SP-BSP alliance, Mayawati on Monday said it was only the start of more such results. Targeting the Yogi government, she said BJP should introspect rather than celebrate one year of coming to power in Uttar Pradesh.

Yogi Adityanath and BJP came to power in the state in 2017 on the back of a resounding win which saw SP and BSP confined to the sidelines. One year on, BJP is trying to highlight all that the state government has done but Mayawati - expectantly - is not impressed. "The duration of one year of Yogi government has left a bad mark on the state. That is why they were given a befitting reply in Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-elections," she said. "People of the state are expressing their anger towards BJP government from time to time. In upcoming elections (in 2019), BJP will be in bad condition. Instead of celebrating one year of UP government, they should seriously do self-introspection of their failures."

The BJP has been highlighting what it claims is a massive crackdown on crime in the state by the Yogi government. It also says the state government has invested heavily in the economic progress of the state. Political rivals like Mayawati though argue that the claims are hollow and instead, say caste-based politics, moral policing and targeting minorities has become the order of the day. BJP's defeat in the by-elections too has come as a shot in the arm for the likes of BSP and SP - two arch rivals which came together to mount a worthy challenge.