Lok Sabha polls: Mayawati to kickstart campaign in western UP from April 14

Muzaffarnagar: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is set to launch her Lok Sabha election campaign in western Uttar Pradesh with a rally here on April 14, after a gap of seven years to shore up electoral support for the party.

Mayawati would be holding rallies from April 14 to April 23 to seek votes for BSP candidates in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor, Nagina, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Amroha, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Meerut and Hapur constituencies.

Western UP's Bijnor, Nagina, Saharanpur, and Amroha constituencies are among the 10 seats on which the BSP candidates had emerged victorious in 2019. The seats going to polls in the first phase of elections this year have a sizable chunk of Dalit and minority community voters.

Party workers, busy in preparations for 'Behen ji's' programmes, said they believe the rallies are going to be 'historic' and 'the atmosphere on the ground would change' after April 14.

"On April 14, our national president will hold a programme at the ground of the Government Intercollege here in support of party's Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha candidate Dara Singh Prajapati and Bijnor candidate Vijender Singh Chaudhary," BSP's Muzaffarnagar unit president Satish Kumar Ravi told PTI.

He said local party workers would be joined by those from nearby areas like Sardhana (Meerut) as they are expecting a large turn up of crowds for Maywati's rallies.

"Behenji would be holding a rally in Muzaffarnagar for the first time since 2017. All party workers are enthusiastic about it going full swing for preparations. It is going to be a historic rally," he said.

Party's local functionary Sushil Sharma said the people in Uttar Pradesh have seen the administration of the governments led by the BSP, the Samajwadi Party and now witnessing the BJP's regime.

"The atmosphere which has been created (by the BJP), will change. For example, they have created an image of good law and order while the situation has only deteriorated. The public is unhappy," Sharma said.

"People experienced relief during BSP rule. In SP's regime the people witnessed hooliganism and then voted for the BJP out of frustration from SP. In BJP's rule people are running from pillar to post, the bureaucracy is running amok, corruption levels have gone higher," he claimed.

According to the party's schedule, Mayawati would begin her election campaign from Muzaffarnagar on April 14 and hold two rallies daily in constituencies, going to polls on April 19 in the first phase, till April 16.

She would resume her next round of campaign over three-days after a break till April 21 and visit the areas going to polls on April 26 in the second phase of the polls.

In 2019, BSP tied up with SP for Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP won 10 seats and bagged 1,66,59,754 of total votes polled (19.42 per cent). Its partner SP had won 5 seats and got 1,55,33,620 votes (18.11 per cent).

However, in 2024, the BSP is fighting the elections solo.