Mayawati keeps options open, says 'wasn't a member of Assembly or Council when became UP CM'

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Wednesday announced that she will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, but kept open the option of fighting a parliamentary bypoll later.

BSP supremo Mayawati. FILE IMAGE

NEW DELHI: BSP supremo Mayawati on Wednesday asked her supporters not to get disheartened over her decision of not contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as she kept open the option of fighting a parliamentary bypoll later. Mayawati said she was not a member of either Uttar Pradesh Assembly or Council when she became chief minister for the first time in 1995. She said a person who is holding the post of prime minister or minister gets six months to be a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. "When I became UP CM first time in 1995 I was not member of either UP Assembly or Council. Similarly is provision at the Centre where a person have to be a LS/RS member within 6 months of holding office of minister/PM. Don't disheartened from my decision not to contest LS poll now," Mayawati tweeted hours after announcing her decision.

When I became UP CM first time in 1995 I was not member of either UP Assembly or Council. Similarly is provision at the Centre where a person have to be a LS/RS member within 6 months of holding office of minister/PM. Don't disheartened from my decision not to contest LS poll now

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) March 20, 2019

Earlier in the day, the former UP chief minister said: "In view of the present circumstances and the need of the country and the interests of the party, the movement and the public, it is the need of the hour that I do not contest the Lok Sabha polls. And this is the reason that I have decided not to contest the Lok Sabha polls." But she added it would not be a problem if there is a need for her to enter Parliament later. "If it so happens that I have to get elected to the Lok Sabha later, I can contest from any seat by getting it vacated and become an MP. I will not face any problem," she said. She claimed that all she has to do is to go and file nomination papers and her party workers will ensure her victory. The BSP chief suggested that if she contests, the party workers will focus on her seat even if she forbids them, affecting the campaign in other constituencies. "Hence, winning each and every Lok Sabha seat is more important than my personal victory," Mayawati said. The BSP, the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have entered an alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the April-May Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is not part of this pact, but the alliance has said it will not field candidates in Amethi and Raebareli, the two seats that are now with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The Congress, in turn, said it will leave seven UP seats for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, an offer that was spurned by Mayawati.