Maya threatens to reconsider support to Cong govt in MP

The BSP has trained guns on the Congress, accusing the grand old party of forcing its candidate to opt out of the Lok Sabha election to Madhya Pradesh's Guna seat where Congress' Jyotiraditya Scindia is in the fray.

Perturbed over her party's candidate Lokendra Singh Rajput joining the Congress on Monday and extending his support to Scindia, BSP supremo Mayawati threatened to “reconsider” continuing her party's support to the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.

With its two MLAs, the BSP is providing outside support to the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.

The BSP chief alleged that the Congress “intimidated” Rajput and “forced” him to pull out of  the electoral race, saying the grand old party is not behind the BJP in misusing government machinery.

"The BSP will reply by contesting the elections on its own symbol and also reconsidering continuation of support to the Congress government," Mayawati said in a series of tweets on Tuesday.

This comes within 10 days after Khileshwar Kumar Sahu, a BSP candidate from Raipur seat in Chhattisgarh, withdrew his candidature in favour of the Congress' candidate Pramod Dubey ahead of the polls.

Horse trading

After Sahu pulled out of the polls, the State unit of the BSP accused the Congress of “horse trading,” and demanded lodging of an FIR against Sahu and Dubey.

It also wrote to the Election Commission to bar Dubey from contest even as Sahu said he voluntarily pulled out of the race, citing inadequate funds.

Lashing out at the Congress for playing “narrow” politics, she urged people to “remain vigilant” of the grand old party's “double standards”.