BSP Will Support SP in UP Bypolls But No Alliance For 2019 Lok Sabha Polls

Uttar Pradesh: On Sunday, BSP supremo Mayawati ruled out any chances of an alliance between her party and the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party in UP for the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, she confirmed that her party will extend its support to the SP candidates in the Phulpur and Gorakhpur byelections. Mayawati said,"I want to clarify that BSP has not allied with any political party. All rumors about BSP ánd SP alliance in UP for 2019 Lok Sabha elections are false and baseless,''  

I want to clarify that BSP has not allied with any political party. All rumors about BSP & SP alliance in UP for 2019 Lok Sabha elctions are false and baseless: Mayawati, BSP chief in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/xLggZDWijO

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 4, 2018

"Right now we don’t have sufficient numbers for Rajya Sabha but if the Samajwadi Party will support us then we are also going to support their candidate in the MLC elections. On Congress, I want to be clear that if Congress wants our vote in Madhya Pradesh for Rajya Sabha elections, then they will have to vote for our candidate in Uttar Pradesh.”, she added. Earlier SP's Sunil Singh Yadav clarified that the Mayawati-led party will not contest by-elections. "All I know is BSP does not contest by-elections. At both places where by-elections are being held, SP will give a strong fight to defeat the BJP,", he said. Gorakhpur bypolls were announced after Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The seat fell vacant after the UP Chief Minister resigned as Lok Sabha member in September last year after being elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. Apart from Gorakhpur even Phulpur will go to polls which were vacated by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minster Keshav Prasad Maurya. The arch rivals SP and BSP had earlier partnered in the 1993 UP Assembly elections.