Lucknow: Commenting on possibility of a tie-up between Samajwadi Party and Congress before Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday said an alliance would be struck only if it benefits BJP.
"SP and Congress alliance in UP will come into being only if BJP gives its approval and if it (BJP) feels it will gain from it...The green signal will be given by BJP after evaluating its gains and losses from such an alliance," she told newspersons here.
She said it was being stated that BJP was exerting pressure on SP chief and his family through Enforcement Directorate, I-T department and CBI through disproportionate assets cases, and "other weaknesses" to join hands with Congress to divide Muslim votes and stop BSP from coming to power.
"Keeping in mind the chances of BSP coming to power in UP, it is being said BJP is showing threat of central government agencies like ED, I-T and CBI to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family in connection with DA cases and other shortcomings to divide Muslim vote," she claimed.
Referring to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's frequent statements favouring an alliance with Congress, Mayawati questioned as to why a person who has come to power on his own in the last Assembly elections is so keen on contesting the coming polls in an alliance.
"Why is he so keen on taking the help of Congress which is on oxygen in the state...This fact has to be understood in depth by the people of the state or else SP will be able to take its political benefit," she said.
"The reality is that even if SP contests coming elections in alliance with Congress, it will not come back to power and the CM is well aware of this," she said, adding if they contest in alliance and lose, SP will put the entire blame on Congress.
"...(by doing so) the head of the SP government will be able to save his image in the eyes of the people...This has to be understood by Congress as well otherwise it (Cong) will go in oblivion in the state," she said.
Taking the Bihar elections example, Mayawati said "just as all secular voters" there decided to defeat BJP, they will show the same unity here and defeat the "dangerous" policies and programmes of BJP and vote for BSP.
Cautioning Muslims against "designs" of her political
rivals, Mayawati said even if SP and Congress came together it will be of no use as infighting in the Yadav family has split the ruling party into two camps - that of Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Yadav - and they will work against each other.
"Yadav vote bank will get divided in the two camps and if Muslims vote for SP, this will directly benefit BJP," she said.
She was, however, confident "Muslims will not waste their votes" either on SP or on the alliance, in case it comes into being, "after having learnt the lesson in 2014 Lok Sabha elections".
"Muslims will this time vote only for a party or alliance which has the potential of defeating the saffron party candidates and they feel BSP is the only such party as it alone has 24 per cent Dalit vote which together with Muslim vote bank becomes a major force," she said.
"Due to discriminatory development and jungle raj of the SP and BJP's unfulfilled promises and hardships caused by note ban, even the upper castes and backwards are coming to BSP which alone can stop BJP from coming to power in UP," she said.
Claiming that SP has a tacit understanding with BJP, Mayawati said although her party had formed government in the state with BJP in the past, it had "never compromised" on its ideals.
She, however, cautioned people, especially Muslims, that in order to divert voters' attention from major issues, BJP might try to cash in on Ayodhya dispute for its "political and selfish" motives or engineer Hindu-Muslim riots during the elections and both communities need to remain vigilant.
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