Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday indicated that her party will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) with which her party had allied for the 2022 Punjab assembly elections.
The indication by Mayawati comes less than a month after the BSP announced it will go solo in the upcoming assembly elections as well as 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The BSP chief gave the indication after meeting SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal at her residence in New Delhi to discuss the alliance and the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the context of Punjab.
Later, in series of tweets in Hindi, Mayawati said, “Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and the top leadership of the Bahujan Samaj Party held a meeting in Delhi today to discuss the strategy regarding the strengthening of the old alliance and better coordination in the next Lok Sabha general elections in Punjab. The meeting was held in a congenial atmosphere and the conversation was beneficial.”
Describing the BSP-SAD alliance as dependable, she said the people were looking at it.
With good results in the Lok Sabha, better changes would be possible in the country’s politics, she said.
The four-time former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed people were saddened first by the activities of the Congress and now by the working and breaking of promises by the AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government in Punjab.
People also dislike the “jugaad” politics of the BJP which is negative, she said.
Wishing Shiromani Akali Dal patron and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal good health and a long life, Mayawati said his contribution in building and strengthening the SAD-BSP alliance was commendable. His blessings to the alliance remained as strong as ever, she said.
The BSP and SAD leaders were confident that both parties would be able to transfer their votes to each other to ensure that the alliance won the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, she said.
Earlier, Mayawati had announced at a press conference on her birthday on January 15 that her party will not forge an alliance with any party either in the upcoming assembly polls in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh or in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Under a conspiracy, the Congress and other political parties are spreading confusion among the people about a pre-poll alliance with the BSP in the upcoming elections. In the earlier pre-poll alliances, the BSP suffered setbacks due to the failure of the alliance partners to transfer their votes to the BSP candidates. Punjab, where the BSP contested the 2022 assembly election in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), is the only exception. In view of the bitter past experiences of the pre-poll alliances, the BSP has decided to contest the upcoming assembly elections in various states and the 2024 Lok Sabha on its own,” she had said.
The BSP had contested the 2022 assembly election in Punjab in alliance with the SAD.
The BSP had fielded candidates on 20 seats and the SAD on 97 seats. The SAD won three seats and BSP managed to win one seat. While SAD secured 18.38% votes, the BSP polled 1.77% votes.
