Maya introspects poll debacle, blames it on division of votes
The outgoing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday attributed the electoral success of her arch rival Mulayam Singh Yadav to the support of Muslims and a division in the upper caste and backward votes.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo even hinted at a shift in her party's approach towards the upper caste and Muslims saying that it would now lay emphasis on bringing the two under its fold so that the party might not have to face electoral debacle in the future.
Speaking to reporters after submitting her resignation to Governor B L Joshi here, Mayawati said 70 per cent of the Muslims voted for the Samajwadi Party (SP) as they “feared” the revival of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
“The Congress raked up the Muslim reservation issue to woo the community....the BJP opposed it in a bid to bring the upper caste and the OBC under its fold...this created a fear among the Muslims that the BJP may come back to power as the Congress was weak and so they voted for the SP,” she said.
Mayawati apprehended that the SP rule might push the state towards backwardness. “Our government had initiated several welfare and developmental measures...the new regime may not continue to pursue them,” she said.
She also blamed the media for the debacle and said that it helped in the polarisation of the Muslim votes in favour of the SP by keeping the Muslim reservation issue in limelight.
Mayawati said that her party would work for forming a cadre of other castes and communities on the lines of dalits so that there was no “Hindu-Muslim' mindset and the party might not have to face an electoral collapse in future. The BSP could win only 80 seats this time.
Earlier in the day, Mayawati drove down to Raj Bhavan and handed over her resignation to the Governor. Her cavalcade entered Raj Bhavan through the rear door to avoid the waiting media personnel outside the front gate.
