New Delhi: The Congress leaders believe that there is still a chance for the Congress and Bbahujan Samaj Party coming together to reach an understanding for the remaining seats in the state. BSP chief Mayawati already announced first list of 22 seats for the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
BSP’s list of 22 constituencies came soon after Mayawati’s announcement of a tie-up with former chief minister Ajit Jogi’s Janata Congress for the assembly elections in the Chhattisgarh, indicating that talks of an alliance with the Congress in that state had collapsed.
“Even though the Bahujan Samaj Party has declared its first list, talks are still on between Mayawatiji and our top leaders, including (state Congress chief) Kamal Nath ji,” the Congress media cell in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, Shobha Oza, said. There are a total of 230 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh.
A state Congress leader, who asked not to be named, said that the seats named by the BSP were in the Bundelkhand (3), Vindhya (9), Mahakoshal (4), and Gwalior-Chambal (6) regions, where the Bahujan Samaj Party has some influence.
The list includes the constituencies of three of the Bahujan Samaj Party’s four sitting MLAs, he pointed out.
“We understand that Mayawati is using pressure tactics, but she understands that only by coming to an understanding with the Congress and presenting a united front against the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), will the chances of winning increase,” said the Congress leader .
“She will have to concede some things, and we will also have to give in. Had our top leadership wanted, they could have announced that we are going solo, but that has not happened,” the leader quoted above said.
Mayawati had earlier said that she would be willing to tie up with a Congress in exchange for a “respectable” number of seats in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The BSP contested 227 out of the 230 seats in the 2013 elections in Madhya Pradesh, won four, and had a vote share of 6.29%. The Congress won 58 seats with a share of 36.38%, and the BJP won 165 seats with a vote share of 44.88%.