Even as the Congress is eyeing a Bihar-like ‘grand-alliance’ in Punjab ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls, the Bahujan Samaj Party has denied receiving any proposal from the Congress, and is prepared to go it alone in the elections.
“We have not received any formal proposal from the Congress regarding pre-poll alliance in Punjab,” BSP State president Avtar Singh Karimpuri told The Hindu . Mr. Karimpuri said in case the Congress comes up with a proposal, party chief Mayawati would take a final decision.
“The BSP and the Congress are both national parties and any decision on an alliance would be taken at the national level. If any proposal comes to us (BSP State unit) we will send it to our party chief,” said Mr. Karimpuri. The BSP leader said the party is focusing on contesting all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab and it has already started its preparations to dethrone the ruling SAD-BJP coalition, which is “anti-farmer and anti-Dalit”.
Notably, Punjab Congress president Capt. Amarinder Singh had recently said the Congress was open to alliances with secular forces like the BSP and the Left to defeat the ruling SAD-BJP alliance.
“We are in an advantageous position this time (election year) with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) jumping into the election fray. The AAP's presence is going to dent the Congress and the SAD vote bank as their supporters see the AAP as an alternative and hence, ultimately we (BSP) will gain from it,” he said, adding that the BSP’s sole objective is to uproot the SAD-BJP's rule of nine years in the State.
