In a major development, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said that it can join the opposition alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, provided the alliance partners are ready to project Mayawati as their Prime Ministerial candidate.
BSP national spokesperson Dharamveer Chaudhary said that the “ultimate decision, however, will be taken by Behenji (Mayawati)”,
Chaudhary added that if the opposition parties reach out to BSP in a respectful manner and apprise the party chief of their agenda, there is no harm that the party would see in aligning with them.
“The opposition parties have no leader of Mayawati’s stature. She is a big leader with a pan-India appeal,” he said.
Asked about the possibility of an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav, Chaudhary said: “Mayawati ji is a much bigger leader than Akhilesh Yadav. She has been the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh four times, while Akhilesh has held the post only once. She also is a large-hearted eader and forgives the mistakes of others. If Akhilesh accepts her as a leader with a clean heart, we will welcome him with flowers.”
Notably, the BSP was kept out of the meetings of the opposition parties called by TMC and NCP when they were to decide their candidates for the President and Vice President posts.
Mayawati had expressed her anger in public in a tweet on the opposition’s behaviour.