'Muslims need to think...': Mayawati attacks BJP, SP after Mainpuri, Rampur bypoll results

BSP chief Mayawati wondered whether there was collusion between the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recently-concluded by-elections in Uttar Pradesh.

New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday (December 11, 2022) said that the defeat of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the recently concluded Rampur bypoll in Uttar Pradesh was due to a "planned low voting" and wondered whether there was collusion between the Akhilesh Yadav-led party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The former UP chief minister also said that Muslims need to think and understand this so that in the upcoming elections, they can save themselves from getting cheated. 

"The SP won the bypolls held on Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, but it lost for the first time on the seat held by Azam Khan in the assembly by-election due to planned low voting. Is it not a result of the internal collusion between the BJP and the SP?," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.

In another tweet, she said, "The Muslim community needs to think and understand this so that in the upcoming elections, it can save itself from getting cheated. There is a lot of suspicion over the defeat of the BJP in the Khatauli assembly bypolls, and this is also a matter to think about."

2. इस बारे में ख़ासकर मुस्लिम समाज को काफी चिन्तन करने व समझने की भी ज़रूरत है ताकि आगे होने वाले चुनावों में धोखा खाने से बचा जा सके। खतौली विधानसभा की सीट पर भाजपा की हुई हार को भी लेकर वहाँ काफी सन्देह बना हुआ है, यह भी सोचने की बात है। — Mayawati (@Mayawati) December 11, 2022

In the recently-concluded by-elections, the SP retained the high-profile Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, while the BJP wrested the Rampur Sadar assembly seat from it. The BJP, notably, won from SP leader Azam Khan's bastion Rampur for the first time.

BJP hits back at Mayawati

Reacting to Mayawati's statement, BJP's newly elected MLA from Rampur Akash Saxena said that it was "wrong" to say that there has been a low voter turnout in the by-election. 

"In the Lok Sabha bypolls held in Rampur, the voting percentage was 31.5 per cent, and in the recent assembly by-elections held in Rampur, the voting percentage was 35. So, it is wrong to say that there has been a low voter turnout in the by-election. The polling percentage (in the assembly bypolls) has increased by 3.5 points compared to the Lok Sabha bypolls," he said.

SP MLC Ashutosh Sinha also hit out at Mayawati and said that her party is working as a B-team of the BJP.

"The BSP is working as a B-team of the BJP, and in every election, it makes an effort to transfer its vote to the BJP. However, this did not materialise in these bypolls, and the people rejected the BSP after knowing about its intention," SP MLC Ashutosh Sinha told news agency PTI.

(With agency inputs)