The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), both with presence mainly in Uttar Pradesh, have different plans for Delhi assembly polls scheduled to take place on February 8.
While Mayawati-led BSP has announced that it will contest all 70 seats, the SP may contest none and is likely to support the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
“The BSP is going solo in Delhi and will contest all seats,” a senior BSP leader said.
Despite performing badly in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Haryana assembly elections, the BSP hopes to make inroads in Delhi that has a large number of Dalit and migrant voters and has set its eyes on the 12 reserved seats.
On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party that won two seats in Maharashtra and none in Jharkhand assembly polls, is reluctant to test political waters in Delhi. “The SP does not want to play the role of ‘vote-cutter’ as the party thinks that Kejriwal has a fair chance of having a second term in Delhi. The AAP had supported us in the 2018 UP Assembly by-polls and again in 2019 UP assembly by-polls. Soon, our national president Akhilesh Yadav will make a formal announcement about Delhi,” a Delhi unit SP leader said.
Responding to a question on Delhi polls, Yadav had initially said the SP would not contest but later said party leaders would meet and then make an announcement.
BSP national president Mayawati held a meeting in Lucknow Monday to review preparations for Delhi polls. A BSP leader, who was present in the meeting, said Mayawati asked leaders concerned to select candidates. She has appointed senior party leaders Veer Singh and Ashok Siddharth as those in charge of the Delhi assembly elections.
In the 2015 assembly elections, the BSP had fielded candidates on all 70 seats but its candidates lost their deposits on 69 seats. It bagged 1.30% of the total votes polled.
“The party is working hard to recover lost ground. Dalit outfit Bhim Army led by Chandrashekhar Azad has a huge influence in West UP and Delhi, and has emerged as a challenge to the BSP,” a senior leader said.
Recently, Mayawati has cautioned party workers against the Bhim Army and accused Chandrashekhar of working as an agent of rival political parties to damage the prospects of the BSP in the Delhi assembly elections.