LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Tuesday said her party will contest the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections on its own, without entering into any alliance.
In the previous elections, the BSP had an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Mayawati said that alliances caused the party to suffer losses in both seats and vote share, and also affected the morale of party workers.
On Tuesday, Mayawati held a lengthy meeting with party office-bearers from Punjab at the BSP's central camp office in Lucknow to review the organisation and election preparations. Mayawati said that preparations for the Assembly elections to be held next year in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Punjab, would also be intensified.
Hardworking and honest people would be given priority in the selection of candidates. She also reviewed the progress report on the earlier directives issued to strengthen the party organisation down to the booth level and expand its support base. She instructed that shortcomings identified at various levels be addressed within a set timeframe.
The BSP chief also targeted the Congress and BJP, along with Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party, saying the attitude of those parties had left the people of the state distressed.
Mayawati said that the BSP would present the people of Punjab with Ambedkarite policies and programmes based on the principles of "welfare and happiness for all."
The party claimed that it would help free Punjab from poverty and unemployment and provide people with a path to live with self-respect.
Mayawati directed party workers to ensure the success of the programme to be held on October 9 to mark the death anniversary of party founder Kanshi Ram, with thorough preparations.
She said that preparations for the programme in Punjab should be made according to the guidelines issued last year. Emphasis was also placed on strengthening the organisation through this event.
Mayawati also set a target of improving the party's financial contributions on the occasion of Public Welfare Day on January 15, 2027, compared with last year. She said that increasing BSP's financial contributions was essential to advancing the Ambedkarite caravan and the BSP movement.
Mayawati told party workers that they would have to firmly confront the tactics of saam, daam, dand and bhed (conciliation, inducement, coercion and division) used by opposition parties during the elections. The party must remain active up to the booth level and continue preparing consistently for better electoral results, she said.
