'Better to Fight Alone': Mayawati Says BSP Will Go Solo in Lok Sabha Polls

In a big statement ahead of the 2024 polls, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday announced that BSP will go solo in the upcoming polls. Ruling out the speculations of joining any of the alliances — the INDIA bloc or the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) — ahead of the high-stakes Lok Sabha polls, the BSP chief on the occasion of her birthday said, “It’s better to fight alone.”

“Fighting elections while being in an alliance has hurt us more than it had benefitted us…that is why it is better we fight elections alone,” Mayawati said, adding, “I want to make it clear that Bahujan Samaj Party will fight Lok Sabha elections alone, won’t get into alliance with any party.”

With this announcement, the BSP supremo has strategically placed her party as a standalone force in the upcoming electoral battleground. Notably, Mayawati in December 2023 named her nephew Akash Anand as her successor to lead BSP.

No Such Plans…: Mayawati on Retirement

Responding to queries related to her retirement plans, the BSP chief said that she had no such plans as of now. The BSP chief while addressing a press conference in Lucknow said, “Recently, I declared Akash Anand as my political successor. After this, it is being speculated in the media that I might retire from politics. I want to make it clear that I will continue to work to strengthen the party.”

Mayawati Celebrates Her 68th Birthday Today

Mayawati, who had served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, turned 68 on Monday. Political leaders including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Defence Minister Rajanath Singh extended birthday greetings to BSP supremo Mayawati.

Mayawati is a strong face in the political landscape of Uttar Pradesh. Her decision to not join any alliance ahead of the 2024 polls is suspected to reshape the political dynamics in Uttar Pradesh and beyond.