Mayawati bids on Muslims for BSP's resurrection, forms 'bhaichara' committees across Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: After the impressive recent public meeting billed as a show of strength, BSP supremo Mayawati has turned her eyes on the Muslim community to bounce back in the UP electoral politics.

Mayawati on Wednesday said that the BSP would form ‘Muslim Bhaichara Committees’ in all the 18 divisions in the state, whose members would reach out to the members of the Muslim community and apprise them about the initiatives undertaken by the BSP governments in the past.

Each ‘bhaichara’ committee would have a Dalit and a Muslim as convenors and their task would be to hold meetings in the Muslim dominated areas in the state and persuade them to become members of the BSP.

Mayawati, who presided over a meeting of the party office bearers, said that the ‘bhaichara’ committee members would, especially, apprise the Muslims about the welfare measures taken by the BSP when it was in power in UP.

Mayawati also appealed to the Muslim community to support her party instead of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP) to ‘counter’ the BJP in the state. ‘’Congress and SP have failed to counter the BJP…..Only the BSP has the capability to defeat the communal forces,’’ she said.

Mayawati assured the Muslims that her party would work for their welfare without any discrimination if it came to power in the state.

The BSP supremo had recently addressed an impressive rally of party supporters on the occasion of BSP founder Kanshiram’s death anniversary here in which she had declared that her party would go solo in the next assembly polls in UP, due in 2027.

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.