Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday announced that her party will ally with the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) as it contests the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She added that the party will contest Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Telangana on its own.
In a short statement put out on X (formerly Twitter), Ms. Mayawati said that the party’s efforts in Rajasthan and Telangana will continue “without any compromise with anyone” and that they are hoping for good results in these States.
The Election Commission of India (EC) on Monday afternoon announced the schedules for the upcoming Assembly elections in five States, namely Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram. The counting of votes for all States is expected to begin on December 3.
Soon after the dates were announced, Ms. Mayawati, in her statement, welcomed the announcement of dates but added that the real challenge for the EC “is to make the elections completely free and fair by stopping the misuse of government machinery and money power etc.” She added that the future of democracy depended on how the EC faced this challenge.
“It is necessary to curb the tempting promises and airy announcements etc. made especially by the ruling party to influence the elections in the wrong direction, regarding which Hon. The Supreme Court has also issued a notice. Strict action is necessary against the frenzy and violence of casteism and communalism,” she said.
The GGP had allied with the Samajwadi Party in the previous Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in 2018.
The GGP and BSP have one MLA each in the M.P. Assembly currently, with one BSP legislator elected in 2018 having jumped ship to the BJP in 2022. In the current Chhattisgarh Assembly, there are two BSP MLAs and none from the GGP.
In the 2018 Chhattisgarh Assembly election, the BSP had fielded 35 candidates, of whom two had won. In the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election held in the same year, the Mayawati-led party had fielded 227 candidates.
In Rajasthan, the BSP had contested 190 seats, and had emerged victorious in six. However, in 2019, all six BSP MLAs submitted a letter to Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi to merge the legislative party with the Congress.
The BSP could not register a victory in Telangana in 2018 despite having contested on 106 seats. The party had not contested the 2018 Mizoram Assembly election.
