There's a question mark over who Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati is with and there is speculation that she is aligned with the BJP, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday.
At a press conference ahead of the key meeting of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which begins in Mumbai tomorrow, Mr Pawar was asked about the alliance's take on Mayawati, who has declared herself neutral.
"There's a question on who Mayawati is with. There is speculation that she is with the BJP. I am not saying that is true, but there needs to be clarity on that," the NCP chief responded.
Mr Pawar's comments come on a day when Mayawati ruled out any alliance with either INDIA or the NDA. She said everyone is keen on an alliance with her party, but when she refuses, the opposition accuses her of collusion with the BJP.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, the BSP chief said both alliances largely consist of parties with anti-poor, casteist, communal, and capitalist policies. She said these are policies against which her party has been fighting.
"BSP, like in 2007, will single-handedly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha and four state assembly general elections by uniting crores of neglected/scattered members of society on the basis of mutual brotherhood rather than the manipulation of our opponents. The media should not spread misconceptions," the BSP chief posted.
"Everyone is keen on an alliance with the BSP, but when I don't do so, the opposition alleges collusion with the BJP. If you ally with them, you are secular and if you don't, you are with the BJP. This is grossly unfair and akin to the saying that the grapes are sour," she posted in Hindi.
The BSP and its bitter rival Samajwadi Party had announced an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. While Mayawati's party had managed to win 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party had won five.
Mayawati had ended the alliance with SP soon after the 2019 elections and said that her party would contest future elections on its own.
The Samajwadi Party is a member of the INDIA bloc.
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