Lucknow: The show of opposition unity at the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy might have set the tone for 2019 elections but the picture is not clear as far as Kairana and Noorpur bypolls in Uttar Pradesh are concerned.
The BSP cadre still awaits instructions from party supremo Mayawati like she did for Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-elections.
Soon after the results in Gorakhpur and Phulpur, the BSP had issued a statement making it clear that it won’t be participating or supporting any party for any bypolls in near future. This led to speculation that BSP will stay away from the Kairana and Noorpur bypolls, but the recent bonhomie between BSP Chief Mayawati and SP President Akhilesh Yadav has once again given strength to rumours that BSP might announce support for RLD candidate in Kairana and SP candidate in Noorpur.
The announcement or absence of BSP support for opposition candidate can be a game-changer as Kairana houses more than 2 lakh Dalit voters whereas Noorpur has 60,000 Dalit voters.
The Zonal BSP co-ordinator for Meerut and Saharanpur zone, Raviraj Singh, said, “We have not been given any instructions to campaign for the bypolls. There is an alliance with the SP for 2019. But as far as these bypolls are concerned, without any instructions from the higher ups, we cannot start campaigning in favour of any party.”
In the absence of any direct order from ‘Behenji’, the SP-RLD and the BJP are eyeing the opportunity to capture the Dalit vote bank.
On one hand the SP is trying to woo Dalit voters by talking about their alliance with the BSP, on the other hand the BJP is holding public meetings in Dalit-dominated areas and is telling them that there is no alliance between the SP and the BSP and hence Dalits should not ‘waste’ their votes.
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