Eyeing comeback, Mayawati holds massive rally, says BSP to go solo in 2027 UP Assembly polls

Lucknow: Battling to remain relevant in Uttar Pradesh's electoral politics, BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday addressed a massive rally of party supporters on the occasion of BSP founder Kanshiram’s death anniversary here, launching a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP), Congress and firebrand Dalit leader Chandrashekhar alias Ravan.

The former UP Chief Minister, however, appeared soft on the BJP even as she made it clear that her party would go solo in the next assembly polls due in 2027.

Mayawati, who was flanked by her nephew Akash Anand and other senior leaders, also demanded elections through ballot papers and claimed that a conspiracy was being hatched to dent her party’s core Dalit vote bank.

The BSP supremo also announced the appointment of Akash Anand as the party national vice-president at the rally, billed as a show of strength, indicating that he might be her ‘political heir’.

Apparently buoyed by the impressive turnout, Mayawati exuded confidence that the BSP would go solo in the 202 assembly polls in the state and bounce back to power on its own. ‘’Alliance cost us dearly in the past,’’ she said.

Mayawati lashed out at the SP president, Akhilesh Yadav, without taking his name, and said that the SP was trying to fool the people by its ‘PDA’ (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) formula. ‘’The SP never remembered Kanshiram (BSP founder) when it was in power,’’ she remarked.

She also said that the then SP government had not spent any money on the maintenance of the memorials built by Kanshiram and heaped praise on the Yogi Adityanath government for renovating the memorials with the money collected from the entry fee, on her request. ‘’We are grateful for the same,’’ she added.

Apparently referring to firebrand Dalit leader Chandrashekhar alias Ravan, Mayawati asked her supporters not to be misled by such leaders, who she claimed were hand in glove with the other parties.

The BSP leader also attacked the Congress for ‘disrespecting’ Dalit icon B.R.Ambedkar and claimed that the grand old party did not allow him to become member of the Parliament nor was he awarded Bharat Ratna. ‘’They are now doing drama in the name of the Constitution,’’ she said.

She termed as ‘rumours’ the possible entry of the senior SP leader Azam Khan into her party.

Mayawati alleged that her opponents resorted to rigging to defeat her party in the elections and batted for polls through ballot papers.

BSP has been struggling to stay politically relevant in the state after losing power in 2012 assembly polls. Its strength in the state assembly has been declining ever since. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BSP failed to open its account in UP while in the 2022 assembly polls it could win only one seat.