Ajay Kumar, Lucknow
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is actively involved in both the by-elections for 10 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and the issue of reservations. Cautious of BJP, Samajwadi Party, and Congress leaders trying to portray themselves as the champions of Dalits, Mayawati has warned that both the sub-categorization of SC/ST reservations and the exclusion of the creamy layer are dangerous.
Regarding the by-elections, BSP, which usually distances itself from by-elections, has accelerated its preparations for the upcoming by-elections for ten assembly seats that became vacant after the Lok Sabha elections. In a recent meeting with senior officials and district presidents at the BSP’s state office, Mayawati made it clear that her party will contest all the seats. The by-elections are to be held in Milkipur, Karhal, Seesamau, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Phoolpur, Majhwan, Katehari, Khair, and Meerapur seats.
Mayawati stated that the BSP is a party for the poor, oppressed, and victims. She urged everyone to work hard and stay united to increase the party’s support base. She also criticized both the central and UP governments, saying that the BJP government has failed to address poverty, unemployment, inflation, and backwardness. She alleged that the government is trying to distract people by creating controversies and inciting caste and religious unrest through destructive bulldozer politics. Mayawati claimed that a new conspiracy is underway to divide SC-ST communities by creating a new law on religious conversion and sub-categorization based on caste. She accused the Modi government of rejecting caste-based enumeration and imposing undue interference in the operation of mosques, madrasas, and the protection of waqf properties.
There is speculation that BSP has finalized tickets for Pratik Pandey from Katehari and Shivbaran Pasi from Phoolpur, although this has not been officially announced.
Meanwhile, amidst political turmoil following the Supreme Court’s decision on Dalit reservations, Mayawati has questioned Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s claims about reservations. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), she stated that the credit for reservations goes entirely to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. She alleged that Congress had conspired to prevent Ambedkar from joining the Constituent Assembly and even defeated him in elections, forcing him to resign from the position of Law Minister. Mayawati wrote that Congress’s statement attributing the credit for reservations to Nehru and Gandhi is entirely false. In another post, she noted that Congress’s national president had stated that the party would consult NGOs and lawyers before clarifying its stand on SC-ST sub-categorization, indicating that Congress supports sub-categorization.
(The author is a Senior Journalist at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; views are his own)
