Lucknow, Even as other political parties have gone into a huddle, dissecting their failure in the Lok Sabha elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) refuses to introspect on the issue.
Immediately after the Lok Sabha results were announced, BSP President Mayawati issued a statement blaming the EVMs for the poor performance of opposition parties.
Later, she held a meeting with her 10 newly elected MPs in Delhi in which she has given them basic directives about their role in Parliament.
She reportedly told them that their stand on various issues would be conveyed to them on a daily basis and they should act accordingly.
Party sources said that since the BSP had won 10 seats, compared to zero in 2014, and the party had also improved its vote percentage, Mayawati did not find any reason for introspection.
She has even refused to react to reports of Dalits being beaten up at several places, including Mainpuri, by Samajwadi Party workers who believe the BSP vote was not transferred to their candidates.
Mayawati has also been maintaining a studied silence on the future of the SP-BSP alliance.
“She would want the Samajwadi Party to make the first move. She will not snap ties with the SP and RLD. They can do so if they want,” says a party functionary.
“As for the by-elections to 11 Assembly segments in UP is concerned, the BSP, as a rule, does not contest by-elections and SP can draw up its own strategy.”
Mayawati has also chosen not to start criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi at this point. She has adopted a wait-and-watch policy though she will not be attending the swearing in ceremony of Modi and his cabinet on Thursday evening.
The BSP had contested 38 seats and won 10 seats while the Samajwadi Party, which contested 37 seats, ended up winning only five seats.
Three members of the Yadav clan lost their elections. These include Dimple Yadav from Kannauj, Dharmendra Yadav from Badaun and Akshay Yadav from Ferozabad.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal, which was also a part of the alliance, had contested three seats and it lost all of them.
