New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati launched a scathing attack on Congress party and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of having double standards over alliances and caste politics. Her remarks was in response to Rahul Gandhi’s statement that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would have lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if BSP had joined the opposition INDIA bloc. BSP had stayed away from the united opposition bloc which won more seats than it did in 2019 polls, thus denying BJP a majority on its own.
During an interaction with Dalit students in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli–Gandhi is sitting MP from the seat–Gandhi questioned Mayawati’s absence from the alliance, suggesting that a united front of Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), and BSP could have defeated the BJP. The NDA was reduced to 36 seats, while INDIA bloc won 43 seats. Mayawati’s BSP was reduced to zero seats.
Mayawati accuses Congress of hypocrisy
Mayawati, however, in a series of posts on social media platform X rejected Gandhi’s claims and accused Congress of hypocrisy. “Congress has a malicious and casteist attitude towards BSP and its supporters in states where it is strong or has its government but talks of aligning with BSP in Uttar Pradesh, where it is weak. Isn’t this the dual character of Congress?” she posted on X.
She further said that BSP has always suffered in when aligning with Congress, as its base voters supported them without the other way around. “BSP always remained at a loss,” she added. She also accused both the Congress and BJP of historically opposing Babasaheb Ambedkar, BSP, and Dalit-Bahujan interests.
Mayawati attacks Congress over Delhi results
Mayawati also criticised Congress’ performance in the recent Delhi assembly elections, where it failed to secure a single seat. “Congress contested as BJP’s ‘B team’ in Delhi, which is widely discussed. If this were not the case, the party would not have suffered such a poor performance,” she stated. She advised Gandhi to reflect on his own party’s failures before questioning others.
Additionally, Mayawati also cautioned BJP that it would face the same fate as Congress if it doesn’t fulfill its promises. “The newly formed BJP government in Delhi faces the challenge of fulfilling all its promises related to public welfare and development on time. Otherwise, in the future, this party might also meet the same unfortunate fate as Congress,” her post read.
The Congress could not open its account in Delhi for third time in a row. The party was in power in the capital for 15 years before its ultimate decline.
