Ravi S Singh
New Delhi, June 21
Bahujan Samaj Party has expressed displeasure over the suggestion of one of its defected MLA from Rajasthan by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to project its chief Mayawati for the post of President.
At the same time, there is talk from the BSP that the party will work hard to zero in on a joint candidate with the opposition parties.
At present, the party is keeping its cards close to its chest regarding its views on the exercise of opposition parties.
One of the six Rajasthan BSP MLAs, Joginder Singh Awana, who joined the Congress after the last assembly election in Rajasthan, has written a letter to Gandhi urging him to make Mayawati the joint opposition candidate for the top post. .
He has made a case for Mayawati on the ground that she is a Scheduled Caste and also a woman, who has increased the hacking in BSP.
On the instructions of top BSP leaders, the party’s Rajasthan president Bhagwan Singh Baba declared that Awana’s letter to Gandhi was a political gimmick.
“He wants to make himself dear to the Dalits of his area by taking the name of Mayawati. After canceling the party, it is a political prank to serve one’s own interests in view of the upcoming assembly elections in the state. He said that the Scheduled Castes of the area will teach a lesson to the MLA for leaving the BSP.
Mayawati recently said that she is not interested in running for the post of President. She had said that she would love to become the Prime Minister if given a chance.
Awana and five other MLAs had won the last Rajasthan Assembly elections on BSP tickets, but later merged with the Congress.