BSP Supremo Mayawati Goes All Out For Slicing Uttar Pradesh, Pledges Bundelkhand Statehood After Promising Separate Western UP

On Tuesday (14 May), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati announced that if her party is voted into power, it will create a separate state of Bundelkhand, which spans parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as per a report by The Economic Times.

This announcement comes days after Mayawati promised to aim for a separate Western UP state which will include districts of the region and committed herself and her party to the “longstanding demand” of establishing a bench of the Allahabad High Court in Meerut.

Speaking at an election rally in Jhansi, Mayawati said, "There have been demands for carving a separate Bundelkhand state. If our government is formed (at the Centre), we will take positive steps in this regard. Bundelkhand will definitely be made a separate state."

Bundelkhand is a hilly region that encompasses 13 districts in southwest Uttar Pradesh and northern Madhya Pradesh.

This includes seven districts in Uttar Pradesh: Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Jalaun, and Chitrakoot; and eight districts in Madhya Pradesh: Datia, Tikamgarh, Chhattarpur, Sagar, Damoh, and Panna.

"For the past few years, the BJP and its allies have been in power at the Centre and in most states. Due to their casteist, capitalist, narrow, and vindictive policies, and the significant difference between their actions and words, it now seems it would not be easy for them to return to power at the Centre, provided these elections are free and fair," she said.

Mayawati accused the BJP of "politicising" all central agencies under its control, similar to what its predecessor, Congress, had done.

She urged her party workers to prevent the BJP, Congress, and their allies from coming to power at the Centre.

She advised them "not to get misled by the opinion polls and surveys," and warned them against the "saam, daam, dand, bhed" tactics of political parties.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister criticised the Centre's free ration policy, stating that it is not a permanent solution to the problems of the poor.

Jhansi will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state on 20 May. The BSP has fielded Ravi Prakash from the constituency, while the BJP has fielded its sitting Lok Sabha MP Anurag Sharma, and the Congress has given a ticket to former Union minister Pradeep Jain 'Aditya'.