Amid buzz that the BJP is sending feelers to more sub-regional parties to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Uttar Pradesh, Mahan Dal (MD) president Keshav Dev Maurya on Thursday said BJP leaders are continuously reaching out to him to join the NDA alliance, but he will take any decision after due consultation with supporters and well-wishers.
“I was asked to join before the NDA meeting in New Delhi on July 18. After that too BJP leaders including their State chief [Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary] reached out to me, but I will take any decision after due consultation with supporters and well-wishers,” Mr. Maurya told The Hindu.
The MD president added that an alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would be ideal for the MD to join but no outreach is being attempted by the BSP. “We offered unconditional support to the BSP in June. But there is no response from the Mayawati-led party. As a party our politics is opposed to the BJP, hence an Opposition alliance including the BSP would be ideal for us. But, as they [BSP] are unresponsive, we have to make a choice in future,” he said.
Mr. Maurya also told The Hindu that as per his knowledge the SP and BSP are in touch with each other amid attempts to form an alliance like the one they had for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. “They are not publicly saying it, but are in touch,” the MD president said.
No denial from SP on BSP talks
The SP didn’t deny outright the statement of Mr. Maurya about talks between SP and BSP to stitch an alliance again. “We never showed disrespect to the BSP even when our alliance broke after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The two wheels of ‘cycle’, the SP’s symbol, comprises ideas of Ram Manohar Lohia and B.R. Ambedkar. I am not privy to any such discussion but we want the BJP to be defeated in 2024,” said Sunil Singh Yadav, SP national spokesperson.
MD, founded in 2008 by Mr. Maurya, has failed to taste any electoral success but enjoys support of some sections of Other Backward Class (OBC), such as Mauryas, Shakyas and Kushwahas. The party announced unconditional support to the Dalit-centric BSP in 2024 election after the party members’ meet in Lucknow on June 15. The MD had joined the SP-led alliance for the 2022 Assembly election but failed to make a mark.
