After facing a sharp fall in the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party headed by former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati, stated that it will "only give opportunities to Muslims only after thinking properly so the party does not suffer".
The remarks came from the party after BSP did not even win a single seat from the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Election Commission of India, the BSP garnered only around 9.39 percent vote share in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
From winning 10 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 to drawing a blank in the 2024 elections, BSP witnessed one of its worst electoral defeats from Uttar Pradesh, where the party has won assembly polls four times.
"We gave enough representation to Muslims in this Lok Sabha election as well as in previous elections but we did not get adequate support and they couldn’t understand us well. Therefore from now onwards, we will only give them opportunity after thinking properly so that the party won’t suffer such loss" the Bahujan Samaj Party said, as reported by news agency ANI.
'Will Give Them Chance After Thought So BSP Doesn't Suffer': Mayawati On Muslims
Mayawati in a statement, expressed her displeasure towards Muslims saying, "The Muslim community, which is an important part of the Bahujan Samaj Party, is not able to understand the BSP properly despite being given proper representation in the past elections and this time also in the Lok Sabha general elections. So, in such a situation, the party will give them a chance in the elections after a lot of thought so that the party does not suffer a huge loss in the future like this time."
"Since the results are out, it is up to the future leaders of the country to think about the country's democracy, its interests, and the Constitution," she added.
The BSP had fielded 35 Muslim candidates, the maximum, in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
In her statement, Mayawati also raised her objection, arguing against the long-drawn election process, which becomes exhausting for the voters as well as the government employees, who are deployed on polling duty.
"The election should be held in three or four phases at the most", she added.
BSP's Performance In Uttar Pradesh
BSP had announced that it will contest the Lok Sabha elections independently. Despite contesting the highest number of seats among the six national political parties, the party did not secure a win at even one seat.
BSP had fielded candidates across 488 constituencies across India, which includes all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh has been a shocker for the Bharatiya Janata Party as well, since it managed to win 33 seats, finishing second. The Samajwadi Party emerged as a winner in the state, bagging 37 seats. Congress won six seats and the RLD won 2 seats.
The Bahujan Samaj Party was established by Kanshi Ram in 1984, to represent the combined population of the backward classes and religious minorities including Muslims.