Maya sets condition for joining 'grand alliance'

BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday said that her party would take a decision about joining a possible grand alliance comprising opposition parties to counter BJP only after a seat sharing formula was first worked out.
 
Speaking to reporters here Mayawati said that her previous experience about alliances had not been ''bitter'' and that she would now ''tread cautiously'' before joining any alliance.
 
''Our previous experience from alliances have not been good....let a seat sharing formula be first worked out...we will then decide,'' she said.
 
The BSP supremo said that the alliances often broke down after the polls over bickering among the partners and BJP took advantage of such a situation.
 
''A concrete strategy is needed to counter the BJP, which wants to grab power using any means,'' she remarked.
 
Mayawati said that she had been invited to take part in RJD president Laloo Yadav's proposed rally in Patna on August 27 but added that she would think about sharing the stage only after the seat sharing formula was worked out.
 
Although it seems almost certain that Mayawati will skip Laloo's rally, BSP sources, however, said that a few senior party leaders could attend the rally.
 
Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav would be present along with a host of senior opposition leaders, including the RLD president Ajit Singh.
 
Laloo Yadav had offered to send Mayawati to Rajya Sabha on his party ticket after she had resigned from the upper house.
 
Akhilesh Yadav has already indicated that his party is not averse to joining hands with the BSP to take on the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2019.