BSP Chief Mayawati Rejects Rahul Gandhi’s Criticism, Accuses Congress Of Having Double Standards

BSP chief Mayawati has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the latter questioned the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister's poll strategy.

Rahul Gandhi, while addressing Dalit students in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday (20 February), questioned Mayawati’s recent electoral approach, asking, "Why is Behenji (Mayawati) not fighting polls properly these days?"

Mayawati, Uttar Pradesh’s first Dalit chief minister, responded strongly, alleging that Congress harbours "animosity and a casteist attitude" towards her party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

"In the states where Congress is strong or where it has governments, there is animosity and casteist attitude towards BSP and its followers, but in a state like UP where Congress is weak, there is deceptive talk of alliance with BSP, if this is not the double standard of that party then what is it?" Mayawati posted on X.

During his two-day visit to Raebareli, Rahul Gandhi initially praised Mayawati’s leadership but then slipped in a sharp question.

"Ye toh kehna padega ki Kanshi Ram ji ne neev rakhi aur Behenji ne kaam kiya, ye toh main bhi manta hoon. Magar ek sawaal hai mera, Behenji aajkal chunaav theek se kyun nahi lad rahi (I must say that Kanshi Ram ji laid the foundation and Behenji carried on the work. I also agree with this. But I have a question. Why is Behenji not fighting the elections properly these days?" Rahul Gandhi asked Dalit students of 'Mool Bharti' hostel near Bargad Chauraha, NDTV reported.

Rahul Gandhi expressed disappointment that Mayawati chose not to align with Congress and the Samajwadi Party against the BJP, stating, "Had all three parties united, BJP would never have won the elections."

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress, in alliance with the Samajwadi Party, secured six and 37 seats, respectively.

Meanwhile, BSP contested 79 seats, secured 9.4 per cent of the vote share, but failed to win any seats.

Mayawati, 69, said that in past alliances, BSP’s core voters supported Congress, but the reverse never happened. She argued that this pattern led to electoral losses for BSP.

"Whenever BSP has contested elections in UP and other states by forming an alliance with casteist parties like Congress, our base vote has transferred to them. However, those parties have not been able to transfer their base vote to BSP. As a result, BSP has always suffered losses," she said.

"In any case, the conduct, character, face of the Congress and BJP etc. has always been strongly opposed to Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, his follower BSP and its leadership, his Dalit-Bahujan followers and reservation etc, due to which the country is far behind in achieving the egalitarian and welfare objective of the constitution, which is a matter of concern," the BSP chief added.

On Friday, Mayawati intensified her criticism, alleging that Congress acted as BJP’s "B-team" in the Delhi elections.

"It is widely believed that Congress contested the Delhi Assembly elections this time as BJP's 'B team,' which resulted in BJP coming to power. Otherwise, Congress would not have performed so poorly that most of its candidates even lost their deposits," she said in a post on X.

She advised Rahul Gandhi to reflect on Congress’ own failures before pointing fingers at BSP, emphasising that such self-examination would be more beneficial for his party.

Mayawati also warned the newly formed BJP government in Delhi to fulfill its promises on public welfare and development or risk suffering the same fate as Congress in future elections.

Also Read: Who Is Kashyap 'Kash' Patel? The New FBI Director In Trump 2.0