No alliance with Congress in any state for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, says BSP chief Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday said that her party will not stich an alliance with the Congress in any state for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

“It has been reiterated once again that Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will not have any alliance with Congress party in any state, to contest the upcoming elections,” Mayawati was quoted by ANI as saying.

The clarification by the BSP chief comes days after days after three of the party leaders – Pradeep Ahirwar, Devdutt Soni and Satyaprakash Sakhwar – shifted loyalty to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

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The development comes as a setback for the Congress which was hoping to mend its ties with the BSP, which was forged an alliance with the Samajwadi Party and RLD in Uttar Pradesh. 

In January this year, the SP and BSP announced their alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and later included RLD in the pact, while elbowing out the Congress. Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati later extended their alliance in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

While the Samajwadis will field candidates on three of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, the BSP will contest on the remaining 26. Akhilesh's party will contest Balaghat, Tikamgarh, and Khajuraho seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Similarly, in the hill state of Uttarakhand which has just 5 Lok Sabha seats, the BSP has left Garhwal (Pauri) seat for Akhilesh's party, rest four will be fought by the BSP candidates.  

In UP, the BSP would contest on 38 seats, SP on 37 and RLD on three seats. Two seats of Gandhi bastions have been left untouched by the two parties.

While the Congress was kept cautiously out of the alliance in UP, Akhilesh recently had claimed that the grand old party was very much a part of the alliance as they had left Amethi and Rae Bareli seats for it.

It is widely believed that it was because of the BSP supremos insistence that the Congress was kept out of the formidable alliance her party has stitched with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, even though Akhilesh Yadav was reportedly not as averse to having its old ally on board.