LUCKNOW: The Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Monday snubbed UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s idea of a grand alliance on the lines of the one in Bihar to arrest the surge of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state assembly elections due in 2017.

On Sunday, Akhilesh was quoted as saying that a Bihar-like Mahagathbandhan couldn’t be ruled out in UP, sparking off speculations of possible political realignment in UP ahead of 2017 assembly polls. BSP national general secretary and leader of opposition in UP assembly Swami Prasad Maurya said that an alliance with Samajwadi Party was never possible given the prevailing ‘Goonda Raj’ in the state. “Our party president Mayawati has clearly stated that BSP will contest the next UP assembly elections alone. That nullifies all chances of any alliance with any party including the SP, BJP and the Congress,” he said while speaking to TOI.

READ ALSO: Decision on alliance will be taken by Mulayam, Akhilesh Yadav says

Maurya said while SP rule had given rise to ‘Goonda Raj’ in the state, BJP has been promoting ‘Danga Raj’ (riot-politics based on communal agenda) which is even more dangerous. He said that the growing anti-incumbency against the SP and the BJP has once again made BSP emerge strongly as an alternative in UP. He added that the political scenario in Bihar was completely different from the one in UP and therefore there was no scope for any alliance.

Another senior BSP leader pointed out that the animosity between Mulayam and Mayawati was too bitter for the two chieftains to come together and form any alliance in UP. He said that Mayawati was ‘unwilling to forget the state guest house incident in which she was attacked, allegedly by SP goons’.

READ ALSO: Bihar-like grand alliance possible in UP, Akhilesh Yadav says

Moreover, the two parties, for sometime now, have been nurturing their vote banks by projecting each other in a poor light. A senior BSP leader pointed out how dalits were being targeted during the Samajwadi Party rule. The BSP top brass has also been attempting to cash in on the alleged anti-reservation stance of the present SP dispensation.

In fact, during Bihar assembly elections, Mayawati had been categorical in leveling allegations against the SP and BJP, accusing the two of a tacit understanding. In one of her rallies, Mayawati had said that Mulayam pulled out of the Nitish-Lalu alliance with an aim to benefit the BJP. She further alleged that SP fielded candidates in Bihar in consultation with the BJP.

