NEW DELHI: Blaming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to eat into its vote share in the national capital, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has stated that it would fare better in Lok Sabha elections in pockets where the former appears weak.
The Mayawati-led BSP has fielded candidates in all seven seats in Delhi, which goes to polls in the sixth phase on May 25.“We are resolute in our belief that our vote share will rejuvenate as we are contesting on our own. This will lead to a triangular contest. BSP’s vote share was more than 14 per cent in 2008 assembly elections in Delhi when it was in power in Uttar Pradesh but following the emergence of AAP, vote share has been on decline,” BSP Delhi unit chief Laxman Singh affirmed.
He claimed that his party’s traditional voters had switched to AAP as they can never go to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“BSP has been nominating Muslim candidates in Delhi while other parties have always shied away from fielding Muslims in Lok Sabha elections. Out of seven candidates for Delhi, one is OBC, two are Muslims and one belongs to SC community. They are all strong and will fight rigorously,” Singh added.
With 14.8 per cent vote share, the BSP bagged two assembly seats in 2008 assembly elections in the national capital. However, a year later, in general elections in 2009, the vote share reduced to 5.34 per cent, and since then, it has been declining.
In the 2013 assembly elections, the party managed a 5.35 per cent vote share, which reduced to 1.3 per cent in 2015. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party could fetch 1.2 per cent votes, and its share further plummeted to just one per cent in 2019. In the 2020 assembly polls, BSP’s vote share was just 0.7 per cent.
Singh further emphasized that the ongoing election would serve as a platform for the BSP to dispel the myth about its alleged link with BJP or Congress. “Rivals always made allegations against the BSP; some would say that it is B team of Congress or others B team of BJP. Behan Mayawatiji (BSP supremo) and Akash Anandji, are assertively ready this time. We are bringing people of all communities together,” he said.