Uttar Pradesh Elections: Mayawati blames shift of Muslim votes behind poll debacle

After a dismal performance in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati has blamed the shift of Muslim votes behind the debacle.

Ever since its inception, BSP has performed this bad in the UP assembly polls where only one of its candidates could get elected. The vote share of BSP also touched an all-time low at 13 per cent in this assembly polls. Most of its candidates have lost their deposits and in most of the places, the party stood third.

In her first appearance before media after the poll results on Friday, BSP Chief Mayawati said that though the Muslim community was initially supporting her party at the time of polling, it shifted towards Samajwadi Party. This was the major cause of damage to BSP. She said that the Muslim community has committed a big mistake by leaving the tried & tested BSP and opting for SP.

She, however, said that despite the poll debacle the BSP is not shattered and would continue to struggle for the causes of poor and deprived ones. She said that results have not been as expected yet the party would not lose hope and continue with its movement for the betterment of have-nots. She said that the party would look into the reasons behind this poll debacle and learn lessons from its shortcomings. Mayawati said that the conditions of BJP was not good as compared to the 2017 assembly polls yet the BSP failed to cash it on. BSP would take these results as a challenge and show good performance in days to come.