UP Polls: Mayawati terms BJP's victory 'success of negative campaigns', says drubbing 'a lesson' for BSP

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Friday admitted that her party's rout in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election was a "lesson". The former chief minister pointed out that it has become clear that the BSP was not "BJP's B Team" and that negative campaigns succeeded in misleading the people of the state. The BSP which formed a full majority government in Uttar Pradesh in 2007 managed to win just one seat this time with a vote share of 12.88 per cent.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, the BSP chief urged her party workers not to be disheartened but to continue their efforts to carry forward the BSP's movement of coming back to power in the state. "Negative campaigns succeeded in misleading... that BSP is BJP's B-team... while the truth is opposite, BJP vs BSP war was not only political but principled and electoral as well," the BSP chief said.

The 77-year-old leader said that UP election results were opposite to the expectations of the BSP. "UP election results are opposed to BSP's expectations. We should not be discouraged by it. Instead, we should learn from it, introspect and carry forward our party movement, and come back to power," she said.

She cited the examples of BJP and Congress who had built on their respective party bases after their poll defeats and went on to form governments in Uttar Pradesh. "...Before 2017 BJP did not have a good stake in Uttar Pradesh. Likewise today, Congress is also undergoing the same phase as BJP...UP election result is a lesson for us to continue putting in efforts," Mayawati said.

The BJP has retained power in Uttar Pradesh by winning 255 out of 403 constituencies, securing a 41.29 per cent vote share. This is the first time in 37 years that a party (BJP) has been able to retain power in Uttar Pradesh after completing a full term. Narayan Dutt Tiwari in 1985 had secured two consecutive terms in the state.

Notably, BJP came to power in 2000 in Uttar Pradesh, but could not hold its government even for a year when Rajnath Singh was UP chief minister. Since then, the BJP could not come to power, and the state was ruled by the Samajwadi Party and BSP separately till 2017.