NEW DELHI: Unlike previous Lok Sabha elections, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati may not address any rally in Delhi this time, though her name figures in the list of 36 star campaigners submitted before the chief electoral officer (CEO) on Monday.
The party leaders, privy to the matter, said instead a planning is underway to hold a campaign led by BSP’s national coordinator and Mayawati’s nephew Akash Anand. The BSP has nominated candidates for all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the national capital.
“The possibilities of Behenji’s participation in an election rally in Delhi are bleak. We are planning a campaign led by Akash Anandji. However, nothing has been finalised yet,” said a leader.
The BSP chief addressed election rallies in the city at strategically chosen locations in different constituencies, considering the significant presence of party sympathisers.
In 2009, she addressed a rally in Ramlila Maidan in Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha, and in 2014, the venue for her meeting was Dwarka, which falls under the West Delhi parliamentary constituency. In 2019, a rally was held in Ramlila Maidan near the GTB enclave in the northwest Delhi Lok Sabha seat. She also campaigned in the 2020 Delhi assembly elections.
The list of star campaigners for Delhi also comprises the name of national vice president Anand Kumar, who is younger brother of party chief and president of Delhi unit Laxman Singh.
“Our performance will certainly improve. We are working and will give a tough fight to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on our own. There will be a triangular contest on all seven seats,” Singh told this newspaper.
The BSP performed significantly in 2008 assembly elections in the national capital as it secured 14 per cent votes and bagged two seats. It was the first runner-up in six assembly segments. However, a year later in general elections in 2009, vote share reduced to 5.34 per cent and has been declining since then.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party could fetch 1.2 per cent votes and its share further plummeted to just one per cent in 2019. In the 2020 assembly polls, BSP’s vote share was just 0.7 per cent.