Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday said that her party will lend support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh “to keep BJP out of power”.

She said that even though BSP does not agree with many of the Congress policies, it will support the grand old party in Madhya Pradesh and also in Rajasthan if needed.

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“To keep BJP out of power, we have agreed to support Congress in Madhya Pradesh and if need be in Rajasthan, even though we don’t agree with many of their policies,” Mayawati said.

Targeting the ruling government, the BSP chief said the poll results explained that the people in states like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were “totally against the BJP and its anti-people policies”.

Not wasting a chance to criticise the party, she further added that the people chose Congress due to the lack of other major alternatives.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the Samajwadi Party too would extend its support to the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier on Tuesday, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath was in talks with Mayawati’s BSP, the SP, regional player Gondwana Gantantra Party and independents who collectively won 7 seats.

The BSP had stated that “it will try and ensure that the BJP does not form government”.

Madhya Pradesh proved to be a marathon cliffhanger as the state witnessed a see-saw battle between the BJP and the Congress till midnight.

The counting of votes finally concluded in Madhya Pradesh as the Election Commission of India declared the results with Congress winning 114 seats, one short of halfway mark in the 230 seat assembly. The BJP was close behind with 109 seats, Bhujan Samaj Party 2, Samajwadi Party 1 and the Independents 4.

Read | MP cliffhanger ends, Congress emerges single-largest party but short of majority

With none of the two parties getting a majority at 116 seats, smaller parties and Independents will play a crucial role in deciding who forms the next government in the state, ruled by the BJP for the last 15 years.

In a late night drama, the Congress had declared that they had won the state with a clear majority.

In a press conference held at 2:30 am, top Congress leaders Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh said they had written a letter to the Governor to invite them to prove their majority.