Lok Sabha Polls 2024: ‘NDA-INDIA alliances comprise parties that are casteist,’ alleges BSP chief Mayawati

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday said that the majority of parties in the NDA and INDIA alliances hold stances that are against the interests of the impoverished and alleged that they promote caste divisions and communalism.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Mayawati said, “NDA and INDIA alliances comprises mostly of parties that are anti-poor, casteist, communal, pro-rich against whose policies BSP has always fought. So, there is no question of contesting the election by forging an alliance with them...”

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the BSP chief further informed that BSP, like in 2007, will single-handedly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and four state assembly general elections by uniting crores of neglected society on the basis of mutual brotherhood rather than the manipulation of the opponents. Mayawati further warned that the media should not spread any misconceptions regarding this matter.

Mayawati lodged an attack on the recently expelled senior BSP leader Imran Masood and said, “The former Saharanpur MLA is busy in praising the Congress and the top leaders of that party, due to which it is natural for people to question why he left this party first and then went to another party?”

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Earlier on Tuesday, the president of the BSP Saharanpur district unit, Janeshwar Prasad, released a statement noting that Masood, a former independent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), was cautioned multiple times regarding his engagement in "anti-party activities and indiscipline."

Despite these warnings, his behaviour remained unchanged, ultimately leading to his expulsion from the party.

As reported by PTI, Masood, a prominent Muslim figure hailing from Saharanpur district, was absent from a gathering of BSP leaders and officials led by party head Mayawati in Lucknow on August 23. Notably, he garnered attention in recent times for lauding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

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In March 2014, he was taken into custody due to hate speech allegations, stemming from his threat to "cut" Narendra Modi, who was then the BJP's candidate for the prime ministerial position, "into pieces." At the time, Masood was running as a Congress candidate from Saharanpur for the Lok Sabha elections, and this comment was made during his campaign.

Immediately preceding the Assembly elections in the previous year, Imran Masood became a member of the Samajwadi Party and subsequently shifted his affiliation to the BSP.

The BSP said in its release that when he joined in, he was clearly told he would be given a Lok Sabha ticket from Saharanpur only after an assessment of his work. He additionally participated in the Lok Sabha elections on the Congress ticket both in 2014 and 2019, standing as a candidate from Saharanpur.

(With inputs from PTI)