Mayawati: BSP to fight UP bypolls alone, but no permanent break with SP

India वोट Kar | June 4, 2019

Not 'Permanent Break Up' But Will Fight Bypolls Alone: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati announced on Tuesday, 4 June, that her party would contest the coming Uttar Pradesh bypolls on its own, while insisting this was not a “permanent” split with the Samajwadi Party.

Mayawati’s case

Speaking to the media, she said the decision was taken at a meeting of party office-bearers on Monday. She blamed the SP for failing to transfer Yadav votes even in its strongholds, and said the BSP would wait to see whether the SP improved its performance before deciding finally on the alliance. If the SP showed it was doing good political work, the two would join hands again; otherwise working separately would be better, she said.

At Monday’s meeting she reportedly called the alliance useless, saying Yadav votes had not come to the BSP and even Akhilesh Yadav’s own family had lost, while BSP votes had gone to Dimple Yadav. She was also said to have blamed Shivpal Singh Yadav, who launched his own Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) after a feud with Akhilesh, for shifting part of the Yadav vote to the BJP. She said the BSP’s 10 seats came from its own core voters, not the SP.

Bypolls are due in 11 Assembly seats whose MLAs won Lok Sabha seats.

Akhilesh’s response

Addressing a public meeting in Azamgarh on his first visit there since the results, Akhilesh Yadav said the SP and BSP would continue to fight together for social justice. He defended the alliance’s showing, likening the contest to a race between a Ferrari and a cycle, the SP’s symbol, and saying it was not fought on real issues. He also faulted television coverage, acknowledged that his rivals were very strong, and challenged them to compare their development record with his.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the party was waiting for the BSP’s formal position. SP MLA Hariom Yadav said only Mayawati had gained from the tie-up, claiming the SP would have won 25 seats on its own.

The numbers

The alliance failed to stop the BJP, which with its ally Apna Dal won 62 seats in the state. The SP, which won five seats in 2014, did not improve its tally, and Dimple Yadav and Akhilesh’s cousins Akshay and Dharmendra Yadav lost. The BSP, which won nothing in 2014, is now back in the Lok Sabha.

See also: Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party.

Originally published on 4 June 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.