“ Aur ek antim geet behen Mayawati ji kay charnon mein arpit [And one last song to be offered at sister Mayawati's feet],”announced a party worker to a huge gathering assembled at Jamboori Maidan here — a venue last in the news over Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's controversial hunger-strike against the Centre earlier this year.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati was in the city for a convention of BSP workers and supporters from four States — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Rajasthan.
The event, which, considering the choice of States, is being interpreted as an effort by the “Sarvajan” leader to woo tribal voters, drew an impressive number of supporters, who kept pouring in through the day wearing ‘Ambedkar' monograms on their shirts and saris and carrying blue party flags with Ms. Mayawati's pictures printed on them.
Enthusiastic party workers belted out songs, based on Hindi film tunes in praise of Ms. Mayawati.
During her speech, Ms. Mayawati reiterated her party's commitment to the uplift of deprived sections of society.
She said she had been consistently targeted by the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party, along with the mainstream media and big businesses.
“Rival parties keep attacking the BSP's ideology by labelling it anti-upper caste but I want to make it clear that we believe in sarvajan hitaya [welfare of all],” she said, detailing welfare schemes implemented by her government in U.P. amid cheers from the thousands gathered for the convention.
“The casteist media supports them by running propaganda campaigns against me but I continue to struggle and work for the uplift of the poor. But, I also blame all of you who continue to vote for the same parties that have done nothing for you in the over 60 years of Independence. I appeal to all of you to bring the BSP to power in your own States and give us an opportunity to work for your betterment,” she said.
Ms. Mayawati also said that all political parties, except the BSP, relied on contributions from corporate houses for their election expenses and, therefore, served their interests, ignoring the common man.
“The BSP relies only on its workers and supporters to win elections and so we do not work under pressure from anyone.”
Ms. Mayawati further said that Naxalism, crime and continuing poverty were the fallouts of the Centre's “discriminatory” economic and land acquisition policies.
The conference is also being seen as a show of strength for a party that has found the “regional” and “one-State-wonder” label hard to shrug off.
Ms. Mayawati announced that her party would be fielding candidates in all Assembly and Parliamentary seats of M.P, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Orissa in the coming elections.
In M.P., the party had fielded candidates in all 228 seats in the 2008 Assembly elections and in all 29 seats in the 2009 general elections. It now has seven MLAs and one Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from the State.
In the 2009 general elections, the party fielded candidates in all 11 parliamentary seats in Chhattisgarh, in 19 out of 21 seats in Orissa and in 16 out of 25 seats in Rajasthan.
