Bhopal: Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati hinted a major policy shift on Tuesday as she kickstarted her poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh by claiming that she had written to the BJP government at the Centre for reservation for upper caste poor.
Addressing a rally in Bhopal, she promised that if voted to power, she would work for the benefit of the entire society, similar to “what she ensured” during her four governments in Uttar Pradesh as she looks to expand her appeal and tap the disgruntled upper caste members who have said they would not vote for the BJP or the Congress for their stand on the SC/ST Act.
Mayawati also explained the reason behind the unfruitful alliance talks with Congress, alleging that the party wanted to offer weak seats to the BSP in order to end its existence in the state.
She also accused the grand old party of being unnerved after seeing BSP’s growing clout in areas adjoining Uttar Pradesh.
“This is the reason the Congress leaders started levelling baseless allegations against the BSP after collation talks failed,” said the BSP chief at BHEL Dussehra Maidan.
Offering interesting hints at the future of Mahagathbandhan, Mayawati did not mention Samajawadi Party (SP) even once but took a veiled dig at it.
“When the other party (read SP) was in power, it offered unemployment allowance while the BSP during its tenure in power ensured permanent jobs to the reserved categories in government and private sectors,” she said.
Citing an example of how it ensured the welfare of all the sections of the society and prevented excesses on every section in its four-term UP government, she assured to emulate the model if the party comes to power in MP.
“We had worked for ‘Bahujan Hitay and Bahujan Sukhaye’ in UP and we would do the same in MP as well,” she said, contrary to her fiery speeches of the past where she hit out at the upper castes.
She went on to claim that the BSP had even written to the BJP government and its predecessors seeking provisions of reservation for the poor among the upper castes but no one listened.
“Both the Congress and the BJP besides other parties have made constant attempts to weaken the provisions of reservation so that Dalits and tribals could be denied benefits,” alleged Mayawati.
Large numbers of jobs are offered in the private sector without incorporating the provisions of reservation so these benefits are being denied to the rightful owners, she added.
She claimed the VP Singh-led government had tried implanting recommendations of Mandal Commission but the government was pulled down and the BSP afterwards pursued a prolonged fight in the country on this issue.
The BSP chief alerted part cadre against the media, opinion polls and poll surveys which according to her could confuse them at the behest of opposition parties.
Meanwhile, Mayawati’s rhetoric could barely meet the realities as a paltry crowd of around 3,000 attended the public meet in Bhopal. The BSP, which presently has four MLAs, is contesting on all the 230 assembly constituencies in MP.