BSP to contest Chhattisgarh elections in alliance with former CM Ajit Jogi’s party
The party said it will contest the elections in Madhya Pradesh alone.
The Bahujan Samaj Party has tied up with former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi’s party, Janta Congress Chhattisgarh, to contest the Assembly elections in the state. For the elections in Madhya Pradesh, the party said it will contest alone, PTI reported.
In Chhattisgarh, the Bahujan Samaj Party will contest 35 seats, while Jogi’s party will field candidates from 55 seats in the 90-member Assembly. “If we win, Ajit Jogi will become the chief minister,” BSP chief Mayawati said. Jogi, a former Congress leader and the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh, formed his party in 2016.
“My views on alliance with other parties are clear,” she said. “We will go for an alliance if our party gets a respectable number of seats and if the ideologies match.”
Meanwhile, Ram Achal Rajbhar, who is in charge of the party in Madhya Pradesh, said the Bahujan Samaj Party will contest all 230 Assembly constituencies in the state, and named candidates for 22 of them on Thursday. The list includes three sitting MLAs.
Congress leader PL Punia said the party had received an alliance proposal from the Bahujan Samaj Party. “Congress will fight the elections independently and form the government in the state,” Punia, the Congress’ Chhattisgarh chief, said.
Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will have their Assembly elections later this year along with Rajasthan and Mizoram.