Mayawati had earlier in July warned the Congress leaders of not forming an alliance if not given a respectable number of seats.
Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) Chief Mayawati. (File Photo: SNS)
In a major setback to the Congress Party, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday declared that her party will form an alliance with Ajit Jogi’s Janta Congress in the upcoming Chhattisgarh elections.
She also announced that Ajit Jogi would be the chief minister if their alliance comes to power in the state.
“The Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to contest upcoming assembly polls in alliance with Janta Congress Chhattisgarh. The BSP will fight on 35 seats and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh will contest on 55 seats. If we win, Ajit Jogi will be the CM,” BSP chief Mayawati said.
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She said that the “historic alliance will bring development and prosperity to the downtrodden, the poor, Dalits, minorities, tribals and marginalised sections of society”.
The 62-year-old Dalit leader also said that the two parties had come together to boot out the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state and ensure that there is fair and not selective development, as is taking place under the watch of the present dispensation.
The BSP has also released a list of 22 candidates for the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly stating that it would fight alone in the elections.
In a press conference, Mayawati said the BSP will tie up with only those parties which are ready to allocate a respectable number of seats to her party.
Earlier in July, Mayawati had warned the Congress leaders of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh of not forming an alliance if not given a respectable number of seats.
Reports had it that the Congress and the BSP had almost finalised the seat-sharing agreement for the three states.
The development is seen as a huge blow to the Congress, which was hoping for an alliance with the Dalit powerhouse from Uttar Pradesh and thus brighten its chances against the Raman Singh-led BJP government in the tribal-dominated state.
The Congress Party which had decided to leave 5-6 seats in each of the three states for the BSP. Mayawati was not happy with the number of seats given and was said to be lobbying for a greater share.
Earlier last month, the BSP had said that it was not in talks with the Congress for an alliance for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.
Elections in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are due by year-end.
The Congress party is in a pursuit to stitch a larger anti-BJP alliance for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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