LUCKNOW: The SP and the BSP should come together or tell the deprived sections that they can't fight for their cause, said Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar as he blamed both parties for the suffering of the poor.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had earlier contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls together but later parted ways.
"Why are they betraying them by posing as their well-wishers. I think when both are fighting for them, why are they contesting separately," said Rajbhar, whose party is an ally of the SP.
"Either they should come together or tell the 'samaj' (communities) that they cannot fight for their cause," he told PTI in an interview as he stressed that the poor and deprived sections are suffering due to the bickering between the SP and the BSP.
"They should come together before the upcoming general election. It's my advice to them," Rajbhar said.
Rajbhar, whose party had won six seats in the recent UP assembly polls in alliance with the SP, made the remarks days after his ally lost its bastions Rampur and Azamgarh in the Lok Sabha bypolls.
Rajbhar had criticised SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for staying away from canvassing and said under him his party failed to win even a single election since 2014.
When asked if he will continue his alliance with the Samajwadi Party, the leader said, "Till now, it is continuing."
Asked if he would try to bring together SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati, he said, "I will obviously make an attempt in this regard from my side. This is my job."
Rajbhar's comments come after the BSP spoiled chances for Akhilesh's party in the Lok Sabha bypolls.
Mayawati's candidate Shah Alam, also known as Guddu Jamali, bagged more than 2.5 lakh votes, splitting the Muslim voters.
SP's Dharmendra Yadav lost the contest in the party bastion of Azamgarh to BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirhua'.
Reports suggest that on the Rampur seat vacated by SP leader Azam Khan, the BSP's strategic decision not to field a candidate helped BJP's Ghanshayam Singh Lodhi as Dalit votes went to the ruling party.
In the 2019 general election, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav coming together had helped the opposition lower the BJP's tally to 62 from 71 it had won in 2014.
On his statement that SP president Yadav had become the chief minister only by the grace of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rajbhar refrained from repeating it.
He said everyone should start preparations for the 2024 polls on the ground and remain there with people.
Asked what his party was doing for the next parliamentary polls, the leader said, "I remain in villages, remain with people, hold meetings with booth, sector committees and strengthen our base. We focus on booths and try to make them strong."
What advice he would like to give to Akhilesh Yadav, Rajbhar said everyone should make his party strong.
"If we all sit at home, how will the country run," he said.
On how many seats his party is planning to contest in the next parliamentary polls, Rajbhar said, "We are preparing for five seats."
The leader had earlier said the SP should contest 60 seats and give the remaining 20 to its allies.
On whether he had met Akhilesh Yadav after the bypolls, Rajbhar said, "I will see if we can meet."
Asked whether his party will support NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu or the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, who is backed by his ally SP, he said no decision has been taken so far.
"A lot of time is left, we will decide where to vote," he said.
When asked whether the BJP or any other party has approached him for his party's support in the July 18 presidential elections, Rajbhar said, "No one has approached me, nor have I contacted anyone till now."