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BJP not to seek BSP support in U.P.

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is hoping to win the maximum seats from Uttar Pradesh to boost the National Democratic Alliance’s chances to form the next Government at the Centre, does not consider the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party of much relevance in national politics.

The BJP general secretary in charge of U.P. affairs, Arun Jaitley, said here on Thursday that in next year’s Lok Sabha elections the BSP and the SP are not in the running to form the next Government at the Centre. “Central politics is essentially bipolar with the Congress-led UPA and its allies on one side of the political ring and the NDA and its allies on the other,” he said.

He denied that the BJP would seek Mayawati’s help in formation of the new government in the event of a fractured verdict. Lending support to Ms. Mayawati to form the government in U.P. thrice had been a bitter experience for the BJP, Mr. Jaitley said at a press conference. Mr. Jaitley, who reviewed the party’s prospects for next year’s Lok Sabha elections at the meeting of the state office-bearers of the party, said the Congress and the UPA had failed on the economic front. .

Saddled with a weak leadership, the Congress and UPA’s record had been dismal and its failure to curb terrorist activities had furthered weakened its prospects, he added.

He said that with the possible exception of UP, in the past three years the Congress and the UPA had lost the Assembly polls in Bihar, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and now, Karnataka, which had been won by the BJP or its allies.

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