BSP won't contest bypolls until EC acts against fake voting: Mayawati

Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati alleged irregularities in voting in the recent Uttar Pradesh bypolls and said her party will not contest by-elections, particularly in the state, "until the Election Commission takes measures to prevent fake voting".

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also held the Yogi Adityanath-led state government responsible for the violence in Sambhal district over the survey of a mosque. Bypolls to nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh were held on November 20 and the results were declared on Saturday. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all the seats unsuccessfully.

The BSP candidates were pushed to the third spot in seven seats while in two seats, they came fifth, even behind the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidates.

The party's poor show led to the charge of being a "vote katwa" -- a term meant to accuse it of cutting into the Samajwadi Party's (SP) votes, especially in Katehari and Phulpur, in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Mayawati-led party posted its best performance in Katehari, where its candidate Amit Verma got 41,647 votes to emerge third. SP leaders alleged that the BSP helped the BJP's Dharamraj Nishad win the seat by cutting into the votes of its candidate, Shobhawati Verma, who lost the contest by a margin of 34,514 votes.

The BSP's worst show was in Kundarki, where its candidate Rafatulla polled a meagre 1,099 votes. Ramveer Singh of the BJP won the seat, defeating SP's Mohammad Rizwan by a massive margin of 1,44,791 votes. Singh received 1,70,371 votes against Rizwan's 25,580 votes.

"In the bypolls to the nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, there was widespread discussion about the votes cast and the results announced on Saturday. I am not saying this myself, it is a common perception among people that earlier, during elections conducted with ballot papers, fake votes were cast by misusing the system, often through fraud.

"Now, similar practices are being carried out using EVMs (electronic voting machines), which is a matter of deep sorrow and concern for democracy," Mayawati told a press conference here. These activities are now being executed more openly, especially during bypolls, she claimed.

"We witnessed this in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls. Similar concerns have also been raised regarding the recent (Assembly) election in Maharashtra. This is a major warning bell for democracy in our country," the BSP chief said. "Given this situation, our party has decided that until the Election Commission takes strict measures to prevent fake voting, we will not participate in any bypoll across the country, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. I am specifically referring to bypolls here," she added.

As far as the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls are concerned, there is a somewhat better safeguard because the fear of power changing hands makes the state machinery more cautious, Mayawati said. "In these elections, it is not guaranteed that the ruling party will retain power and there are chances that another party may take over. This fear keeps the government machinery somewhat restrained," she added.

Considering all these factors, the BSP will contest elections to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies with full preparation and strength, Mayawati stressed.

In the bypolls, the BJP and its ally, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), won seven seats together while SP candidates emerged victorious in two. Mayawati noted that after the BSP formed an independent majority government in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, the Congress, the BJP and their "caste-based" allies became highly anxious.

"They feared that if the BSP comes to power at the Centre, it would realise the incomplete dreams of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and his follower, the respected Kanshi Ramji, in every aspect. To prevent this, these casteist parties -- Congress, BJP and their associates -- secretly colluded. "Together, they manipulated and used opportunistic, self-serving individuals from the Dalit community to create numerous parties. These parties are entirely funded by the same groups to serve their interests," Mayawati claimed.

This is why these parties travel with dozens of vehicles and even use helicopters and aeroplanes for their election campaigns. These things are widely discussed among the public, she said. The BSP, on the other hand, raises funds independently through memberships and other contributions. It is worth noting that these opposing parties are weakening the BSP for their political gains by fielding candidates who align with their interests, Mayawati said.

"Furthermore, to strengthen these self-serving and opportunistic groups, our opponents are even transferring their votes to them and ensuring that one or two MPs or MLAs from such groups get elected in each state," she claimed. "Therefore, it is imperative for Dalits, Adivasis and other backward communities not to waste even a single vote on these selfish and opportunistic parties," the BSP chief said.

Mayawati pointed out that this pattern was witnessed in the recent Assembly polls in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand as well as in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls. She blamed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh for the unrest in Sambhal.

"Following Saturday's unexpected bypoll results in the state, there has been significant tension in Sambhal district and the entire Moradabad division. In such a situation, the administration should have postponed the survey of mosque and temple properties in Sambhal to maintain peace. "Instead, the survey conducted on Sunday has led to unrest and violence, for which the Uttar Pradesh government and administration are entirely responsible. This is highly condemnable. Such actions should have been carried out peacefully by involving both sides, which was not done. I appeal to the people of Sambhal to maintain peace and order in these challenging times," Mayawati said.

Three persons were killed and scores of people, including around 20 security personnel and four personnel of the administration, were injured as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque clashed with police in Sambhal on Sunday.

(Inputs from PTI)