Mayawati joins anti-EVM bandwagon, won’t contest any bypoll till issue fixed

A day after being routed in the nine Uttar Pradesh Assembly bypolls, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati got on to the anti-EVM bandwagon, saying the party will not participate in any bypoll until this matter is addressed.

Mayawati has been presiding over a party in free fall for a long time now and currently has only one MLA in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

Appearing before the media on Sunday, Mayawati said, “In the recent by-elections held for nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, there was widespread discussion about the voting process and the results announced yesterday. Earlier, fake votes were cast using ballot papers through misuse and fraud, and now similar activities are being carried out using EVMs, which is a matter of concern and sorrow for democracy.”

She said in this given situation, the BSP has decided that until the Election Commission takes strict measures to prevent fake voting, she will not contest any by-elections.

At its peak in 2007, the BSP had won 206 seats and 30.43 per cent votes with Mayawati, the first Dalit CM of the state consolidating her position. In 2022 she was down to one MLA and 12% votes.

Ongoing for a decade, BSP’s decline in 2022 entered terminal stages, with the once-dominant electoral force of UP confined to the lone Rasara seat in Ballia, posting the poorest performance in its 38-year history.

The decline was as dramatic as BSP rise under late Kanshi Ram in 1984.