The Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday announced that it was breaking its almost ten-month-old electoral alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal and will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, due this year, with the Loktantra Suraksha Party in Haryana.
BSP Haryana in-charge Meghraj said that following the orders of BSP national president Mayawati, the party has decided to end the alliance.
Rebel BJP MP
“The BSP today ends its alliance with the INLD and has decided to tie-up with the Loktantra Suraksha Party,” Mr. Meghraj told journalists here.
The LSP is the political outfit floated by rebel BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini. The candidate fielded by him in the Jind bypoll had put up a better performance than INLD’s Umed Singh Redhu.
Mr. Meghraj added that the BSP and the LSP will jointly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Haryana.
Seat sharing
“While the BSP will contest eight seats, the LSP would fight two parliamentary seats. As far as the Assembly elections are concerned, the BSP will contest 35 seats and the LSP will fight 55 seats,” he said.
The INLD and the BSP had announced an electoral alliance in April last year for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. The alliance was under strain after the INLD was defeated in the recently held Jind bypoll.
Mr. Meghraj added that the decision to snap ties was taken after considering the demand of the people of Haryana.
“Our leader gave them a chance for staying united. When we entered into an alliance, the INLD was one party. But after the Chautala family split, we got a chance to judge them in the Jind bypoll,” he said.
The BSP leader said the objective of ousting the BJP was unachievable with an alliance with the INLD.
Meanwhile, INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said: “The INLD always respected BSP leaders and workers. Now, why the BSP has decided to end ties with the INLD, its for their (BSP) leaders to answer.”
(With PTI inputs)
