Get ready to fight bypolls alone, don't depend on alliance: Mayawati to BSP leaders

BSP chief Mayawati on Monday said the Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Uttar Pradesh was due to the "poor performance" of the alliance with the SP and asked party leaders and workers to be prepared to contest the assembly by-elections on their own, remarks that have raised questions over the future of the 'gathbandhan'.

At a meeting of the Bahujan Samaj Party's Uttar Pradesh unit here, she also asked office bearers, MLAS and newly-elected MPs to not depend on the alliance to win votes but to improve the party's organisation.

According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati also referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying after Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's younger brother Shivpal decided to contest separately the community votes were not transferred to the BSP, and the SP could not even save its "family seats".

While Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple lost the election by over 12,000 votes in Kannauj, his two cousins Dharmendra Yadav and Akshay Yadav also lost from
When asked about Mayawati's comments, SP Spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhry told PTI: "We will wait to know about official stand of the BSP on alliance's performance in the Lok Sabha elections, after that we will decide what we have to do."