Lucknow: The Congress has extended support to Bahujan Samaj Party's Rajya Sabha nominee from UP Bhimrao Ambedkar on Saturday.
“After a meeting with senior party leaders, we have decided that our MLAs will vote in favour of the BSP candidate. Our main agenda is to defeat communal forces and hence, we will be voting against BJP,” Congress MLA Lallu Singh said.
The support comes days after BSP supremo Mayawati said that the Congress needs to favour her candidate if they want BSP support for Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh.
"I want to be clear that if the Congress wants our vote for Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, then they have to vote for our candidate in Uttar Pradesh," Mayawati had said.
The Samajwadi Party, the BSP, and the Congress can together send two candidates to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. The BSP has 19 seats, the SP has 47 and the Congress six. Each candidate requires 33 votes in the house to win.
After the SP ensures the entry of one of its candidates to the Rajya Sabha, it will be left with nearly 14 spare votes. Added to the BSP’s tally, this is enough to get their candidate is elected.
Earlier, BSP supremo Mayawati’s brother and vice president of the party, Anand Kumar, denied rumours that he was going to contest and said.
“All these rumours about me being a Rajya Sabha candidate are false. Some people are spreading these rumours just to increase their TRP.”
Mayawati had resigned from the Rajya Sabha in a huff last year, accusing the Chair of not allowing her to speak on atrocities against Dalits. She had then appointed her brother to the second-most important position in the party. Speculation was rife that the move was aimed at sending Kumar to the Upper House.
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