Mayawati to Muslims: Don’t waste votes on a divided SP

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, on Saturday, asked Muslims not to waste their votes on the Samajwadi Party which was fraught with infighting.

Taking to reporters at a hurriedly convened press conference, Ms Mayawati said that it was now clear that supporters of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and state SP president Shivpal Yadav would ensure the defeat of each other’s candidates.

“Voting for the Samajwadi Party would mean voting for the BJP,” she said.

Ms Mayawati said that the Janata Parivar reunion at the silver jubilee function of the Samajwadi Party on Saturday indicated that the SP had conceded defeat before the elections.

“If the Samajwadi Party had worked for the development of the state, catered to the interests of all sections of the society, particularly the Dalits and the minorities, it would not have needed to take out a yatra and talk of an alliance with parties that have no base in Uttar Pradesh,” she said.

Ms Mayawati said that incidents in Muzaffarnagar and Dadri had proved beyond doubt that Muslims were not safe in the SP regime and the ruling party had to get parties from outside the state to reaffirm its secular credentials.

Lashing out at BJP’s Parivartan Yatra which also began on Saturday, Ms Mayawati said that the BJP had earlier taken out the Dhamm Yatra which was led by fake Buddhist monks.

“If the Modi government had fulfilled even a third of the promises it had made to the people, the party would not have needed to take out so many yatras,” she said.

“Besides, do you think people will vote for a tyrannical government Even the media has now realised that democracy is under threat in the BJP regime”, she said.

Ms Mayawati made it clear again that her party would not join hands with any other political party.