SP-BSP alliance: Mayawati lashes out at Cong

Congress's vote is not transferrable, said Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati while explaining why the Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP have not included Congress party in their alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Mayawati lashed out more at the Congress than at the BJP while addressing a joint press conference with SP president Akhilesh Yadav here on Saturday. She added that neither the SP nor the BSP would benefit by allying with the Congress.

"Many a time, we have seen similarities between the Congress and BJP. For example, in the defence sector, we are seeing how both indulged in corruption (Bofors and Rafale). Congress imposed declared emergency, today there is an undeclared emergency. Most sections of the society, including scheduled castes, farmers, and the poor were unhappy with the Congress' rule. Whether the mandate goes to the Congress or BJP, it is one and the same thing," she noted.

The SP and Congress came together in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The duo faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the BJP.

Meanwhile, in the recently-held Assembly elections, the BSP had announced support to the Congress in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, despite not being in agreement with the party's policies.

But on Saturday, Mayawati said that any further alliance with the Congress would affect "honest parties" like the SP and BSP.

"Our votes are easily transferred, however, the Congress' vote gets transferred to BJP or any other party, or it gets sorted out internally. Honest parties like ours get affected by this, and we have experienced this in Uttar Pradesh itself. Therefore, we have decided that we will not ally in the future with parties like the Congress," she added.

The BSP and SP announced that they will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls together on 38 assembly seats each, while two seats have been left for other parties.

SP and BSP, had for long, been in talks to forge an alliance. A recent meeting between Yadav and Mayawati had triggered a lot of speculation about seat-sharing being firmed up.

There was, however, ambiguity over whether the Congress would be a part of the alliance, amid indications that the SP and BSP were not inclined to include the party.

Among all the states, Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of 80 Lok Sabha seats out the 543 and plays a crucial role in government formation in the Centre.