Mayawati’s BSP to fight 2024 Lok Sabha Elections alone: ‘Alliance can be considered after…’

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Monday said that her party would fight 2024 Lok Sabha Elections “alone”. Mayawati has not yet joined any of the alliances--the INDIA bloc or the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)--and the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections are just a few months away.

Mayawati, who had served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, turned 68 years old on Monday, said she had no plan to retire from politics.

"Our experience with alliances has never been beneficial for us and we suffer more losses from alliances. For this reason, most of the parties in the country want to form an alliance with BSP. An alliance can be considered after the elections. If possible, BSP can extend its support after the elections...our party will fight the elections all alone," Mayawati said.

On Monday Union Minister Rajnath Singh took to microblogging site X to announce that he had rang Mayawati to wish on her birthday.

"Called former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms. @Mayawatiji and congratulated her on her birthday. I wish her good health and long life," Rajnath Singh posted on X, roughly translated from Hindi.

Mayawati's tenure as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has attracted praise and criticism. Millions of Dalits across India popularly view her as an icon, and refer to her as Behen-ji (elder sister) and Iron lady.

She has been praised for her fundraising efforts on behalf of her party and her birthdays have been widely celebrated by her supporters. On the contrary, the rise in her personal wealth and that of her party have been criticised as indicative of corruption.

Mayawati's statement of non alliance with any party comes, even as BSP's suspended MP Danish Ali joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Imphal, Manipur.

Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali was recently suspended by the BSP.

On Sunday Danish Ali joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, saying he would be failing in his duty as a politician if he did not participate in the "biggest drive for unity and justice".

Danish Ali has been actively joining opposition ranks in attacking the BJP and its policies even though the Mayawati-led BSP has maintained a distance from the BJP-led NDA as well as the opposition bloc INDIA. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) suspended him in December for "anti-party" activities.