Mayawati launches BSP's poll campaign from today in west UP

Lucknow, April 14 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati will launch the election campaign for her party from west Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. 

Mayawati has chosen the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar to launch the party campaign.

On April 11, she addressed a public meeting in Nagpur, considered the 'karma bhoomi' of Ambedkar.

To provide a boost to the party campaign the BSP Chief will address a series of meetings in west Uttar Pradesh, considered a stronghold of the BSP.

The BSP had won three seats in west Uttar Pradesh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, including Saharanpur, Bijnor and Nagina.

Mayawati is working on Dalit-Muslim formula to retain the seats and challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party on the remaining seats.

According to the programme released by the BSP state unit office, Mayawati will address the first public meetings in Deoband tehsil of Saharanpur. She will address the second public meeting on Government Inter College ground in Muzaffarnagar. Both the constituencies are going to poll in the first phase on April 19.

The BSP has fielded Majid Ali from Saharanpur and Dara Singh Prajapati from Muzaffarnagar.

The party denied ticket to sitting party MP Haji Fazlur Rehman from Saharanpur seat and expressed confidence in Majid Ali, who enjoys influence over the Muslim community in the area.

The BSP has fielded OBC candidate belonging to Prajapati community from Muzaffarnagar seat.

Mayawati will address public meetings in Rampur and Moradabad on April 15.

On April 16, she will address public meetings in Nagina and Bijnor and in Ghaziabad, Baghpat and Amroha on April 21.

On April 22, she will address public meetings in Gautam Buddha Nagar and Bulandshahr.

She will be in Meerut and Hapur on April 23 to address public meetings in support of the party candidates.

The election on seats in west Uttar Pradesh is crucial for BSP, as the area has been its traditional stronghold.

National Coordinator of the BSP, Akash Anand, whom Mayawati had announced as her successor, earlier launched the election campaign from Nagina to mobilise the cadre for the Lok Sabha elections.

--IANS

amita/khz