Beginning Of The End? Protests Break Out At First BSP Meet Post-Debacle

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would like to move on from their terrible defeat at the local polls in Uttar Pradesh. But first, they have to face the ire of the party cadre, who are quite upset at the outcome.

According to a Times of India report, the BSP cadres rose in protests in the first party meeting held since the election. They blamed the senior party leaders for the poor performance.

Party general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui and West Uttar Pradesh in-charge Atar Singh Rao were under fire from the protesters as they raised slogans at the review meeting held in Meerut, reported Ishita Bhatia. Workers were angry with Rao because he allegedly sold tickets to weak candidates. The report quotes Prashant Kumar Gautam, an old hand in the party, as saying,

Siddiqui, on the other hand, was accused of misleading party supremo Mayawati. There was even a call for him to be expelled from the party and attempts to burn his effigy – an attempt thwarted by the police.