By IANS,
Lucknow : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Tuesday announced that her party’s 21 MPs will extend outside support to the new United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre “for weakening communal forces in the country.”
“Despite knowing that the UPA this time too will not provide any financial assistance or take significant steps for development of Uttar Pradesh, we still decided to support it to weaken communal forces in the country and also to keep the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) away from power,” Mayawati told reporters before a meeting of the party’s national executive.
“The party has agreed to provide outside support to the UPA government without any conditions,” she said, adding she had authorised senior party leader Satish C. Mishra to meet the president and hand over a letter expressing the BSP’s support to the UPA.
About her telephonic conversation with Manmohan Singh, Mayawati said: “When I congratulated him over the performance of the UPA in the elections, he sought my party’s positive approach in formation of the government at the centre.”
Maywati has convened meetings of the party’s national executive and parliamentary board to assess the BSP’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The party’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls has come as a shock to Mayawati, who was expecting 40 seats.