Mayawati to BSP: Prepare for any situation for state, Lok Sabha polls

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati on Saturday said that though the BSP was discussing alliances with other parties for future polls in Uttar Pradesh and other states, they should be prepared for any situation.

"Although talks are underway for poll alliances in Uttar Pradesh and other states, you have to remain prepared for facing any situation in your respective states at all levels," she said at a meeting in Lucknow of national-level office bearers.

She said the stand of the party while entering into any alliance in any election has been to get a “respectable share” of the seats to contest. Otherwise, it sees fighting on its own as a better option, she said.

Mayawati, who was part of the show of unity among opposition parties at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, said after the debacle in that state the BJP government may advance the Lok Sabha elections.

The BSP chief effected a major reshuffle within her party, appointing RS Kushwaha as the Uttar Pradesh unit president in place of Ram Achal Rajbhar who has now been appointed as the BSP national general secretary and made coordinator for three states.

But Mayawati made it clear that she would lead the BSP for the next 20 to 22 years, telling partymen that nobody needed to dream of becoming the party president.

The BSP president, who had come in for criticism after she made her younger brother Anand Kumar vice president, also announced changes in party constitution to check nepotism. She said no close relatives of the national president will be given any position in the party in their lifetime.