LUCKNOW: Ahead of Panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh, BSP chief Mayawati asked her party cadres to reach out to people through small public meetings and expose the "anti-people" policies of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and Yogi Adityanath government in the state.
Mayawati gave pep talks to her cadres while reviewing the party’s preparedness, in Lucknow on Wednesday. She made it clear to her cadres that she would continue with the review meetings from now onwards.
She also issued the directives to cadres to rope in as many people as possible through membership drive across the state before the panchayat polls which are likely to take place in April-May.
The BSP said it will contest the panchayat elections as a semi-final to 2022 UP Assembly polls.
Mayawati's move comes following defections of important party leaders to the Samajwadi Party in the recent past.
Those who quit the BSP to join the SP are former BSP state president Dayaram Pal, ex-Ballia district chief Mithailal Bharati, and former minister Kamlakant Gautam. Besides, BSP leader and Meerut mayor Sunita Verma, her husband, and former BSP MLA from Hastinapur Yogesh Verma also joined the SP recently.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BSP had failed to open its account. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, she had entered into the grand alliance with Samajwadi Party winning 10 seats. Later, Mayawati accused the SP of failing to transfer its vote to BSP candidates and called off the alliance leading to the resumption of bitterness between the two regional forces.