On Wednesday (27th December), BSP MP from Bijnor Malook Nagar said that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will consider joining the I.N.D.I. alliance if it makes BSP-supremo Mayawati the Prime Ministerial candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections of 2024. This statement by Mayawati’s close aide Malook Nagar has come after UP Congress president Ajay Rai suggested the BSP should seriously consider joining the I.N.D.I. alliance.
BSP MP Malook Nagar added that the Congress must apologise for weaning away BSP MLAs in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after the 2018 assembly elections. He claimed that Mayawati is the tallest Dalit leader in the country and support for her cuts across states. He said, “By projecting Mayawati as the PM candidate, the INDIA alliance will be able to stop the BJP from winning a third consecutive term in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. To effectively challenge the BJP, the I.N.D.I. alliance must nominate Mayawati as their candidate for Prime Minister. If that does not happen, no coalition stands a chance against Modi.”
Malook Nagar further said, “The victory formula for the alliance is clear. In the 2022 (Uttar Pradesh) assembly election, the BJP polled 41.3% votes. The parties constituting the INDIA bloc polled around 40% votes and the BSP secured around 13% votes. If the BSP joins the alliance, the vote percentage will go above 50% which is enough to snatch power from the BJP.”
The BSP leader added, ” The projection of Mayawati as the PM candidate will also bring back the Dalit voters who have been lured by the saffron brigade. The I.N.D.I. alliance should decide to project the BSP chief as the PM candidate. Mayawati will (then) not only forgive the Congress for its misdeed to poach the BSP MLAs in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh but will also have a positive approach towards the I.N.D.I. alliance offer.”
Malook Nagar said, “No matter how much anyone discusses Ram temple, it will benefit the BJP. Ram belongs to all of us, not just the BJP, but the politics and questions raised about the temple will benefit the BJP in the coming days.”
Notably, Congress is willing to take BSP along in the I.N.D.I. alliance. However, other parties in the alliance are not welcoming BSP. Especially, the Samajwadi Party of Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal of Jayant Choudhari are not willing to join hands with the BSP.