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National

BSP now faces elections on home turf

Atiq Khan

Days of casteist politics are over: SP, Congress
High stakes for Mayawati in by-elections

LUCKNOW: The Bahujan Samaj Party’s poor performance in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections is a setback to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s ambition to emerge as the undisputed leader of the “sarv samaj.”

The BSP fielded candidates for all 288 seats in Maharashtra and all 90 seats in Haryana.

While, the party drew a blank in Maharashtra where its vote percentage also fell, in Haryana it could win only one seat.

Moreover, the vote percentage was below what the party got in 2009.

Startling

Political observers say the BSP’s rout in Maharashtra was startling, considering that Ms. Mayawati seemed determined to establish a foothold in the Dalit strongholds.

In contrast, the BSPs’ rival won four seats in Maharashtra.

Now, the BSP is facing by-elections one Parliament and 11 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on November 7. Even though, only one (Lalitpur) of the 11 Assembly seats was won by the BSP in the 2007 elections, the stakes are high for the ruling party.

The Firozabad parliamentary seat was won by the Samajwadi Party in the May elections.

The knives are out with both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party targeting the Chief Minister. Pradesh Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said Thursday’s verdict showed that voters were no longer amused by casteist politics.

The spokesperson of the State unit of the Samajwadi Party, Rajendra Chaudhary, said the days of caste and communal politics were over. He said Dalits were losing faith in her.

The 11 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where by-polls would be held in November are Powayan, Isauli, Hainsar Bazar, Padrauna, Kolasla, Rari, Etawah, Bhartana, Lucknow West, Jhansi and Lalitpur.

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