Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national coordinator Akash Anand has said attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the centre could lead to retaliation. The community, Anand said, that the BSP represents is not capable to fight agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“When you attack someone, you also have to factor in its retaliation. If we keep attacking the Central government, Modiji or Amit Shahji, we know that there will be retaliation. That retaliation will not be directly on us but it will be on people around us, and our community. Our community is not capable to fight ED, CBI or local authorities. How will we protect them?” Anand, BSP supremo Mayawati’s nephew and political successor said in an interview with Indian Express.
“If our any statement and action can cause damage to our people, we do not take such action. But yes, anything which is wrong, that will be called wrong. If people vote for the right candidates, we will get the opportunity to rectify the wrongs,” he said.
Anand said that the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati choses to target politicians considering its benefits or damages for its people, the core voters.
“Behenji never takes any decision for herself but for her samaj. She knows if she outright targets someone, how much that can cause damage to our people. In other parties, people probably have money and political powers. For example, Congress is always in power in some state. So they have a political back-up to protect their people. But BSP is not in power in any state. So, if our any statement causes damage to our people, Behenji will not do that,” he said.
Anand, 28 is the BSP’s main campaigner in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh and other states. On BSP’s performance since 2014, Anand said that BSP’s core vote is still intact while all opposition parties are declining across the country.
“Whether it is Congress or the regional parties, they are all struggling now. BSP is not the only party in it. In fact, at least BSP’s core vote back is intact even today. We have maintained our vote share in Lok Sabha elections since 2014. We believe our vote share will remain intact,” he said.
The BSP won ten Lok Sabha seats in 2019 general elections. But four of the ten MPs have joined the BJP in the run up to the polls. The party has not joined the INDIA bloc of opposition this election.
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Published: 24 Apr 2024, 10:13 AM IST