Maya sets eyes on Uttaranchal, Punjab

BSP SUPREMO Mayawati has her eyes set on Uttaranchal and Punjab, besides Uttar Pradesh. The Vidhan Sabha election in Punjab and Uttaranchal is expected to be held simultaneously along with Uttar Pradesh. After gearing up the party cadre for election in UP, Mayawati has focused her attention on these two states.

Mayawati will blow the election bugle in Uttaranchal when she addresses a workers’ rally at Hardwar on June 29. In Punjab too she will launch the election campaign by organising a massive political rally in the first week of July.  

According to party leaders, she is not only discussing the election strategy with party leaders, but also finalising the list of candidates in both states.

In the last Assembly election in Uttaranchal, seven BSP candidates defeated their rivals with comfortable margin while seven other candidates lost with the margin of around 500 votes. This time BSP plans to send around 15 MLAs to Vidhan Sabha, a senior party leader said.

In Punjab too the BSP has considerable influence over the Dalit and backward community voters. In 1999 Lok Sabha elections, three BSP candidates secured victory. Though in the Assembly election the party’s performance was not up to expectations, still it secured respectable votes. “The support base of the party is intact in both the states and we would emerge as a third force” a party leader said and added  “BSP will be a decisive force in the formation of the governments in Uttaranchal and Punjab”.      

BSP has already completed groundwork in Uttar Pradesh. “During her stay in Lucknow  ‘behenji’ had given green signal to majority of the candidates and directed them to launch the election campaign in respective constituencies.

Final approval to the candidates’ list would be given during her next visit to the city.     

Though the workers’ rally scheduled for June 30 at Lucknow was postponed, she directed the party leaders to constitute booth committees in the districts. The meetings of the ‘bhaichara’ committee are also being held regularly to bridge the gap between the Brahmin and Dalit voters.