BSP chief Mayawati asks Muslims not to waste votes on Samajwadi Party or Congress to defeat BJP

Mayawati told Muslims not to waste their votes on Congress or Samajwadi Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections if they want to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party next year.

The Bahujan Samaj Party chief was speaking at a function on the death anniversary of party-founder Kanshi Ram in Lucknow on Sunday. Mayawati not only spoke about SP and Congress at the rally, but also attacked the BJP by saying that the government has "discriminated against Muslims" and that it is using the "terror incidents on India-Pakistan border" to gain political mileage.

Mayawati further addressed the internal conflicts in SP, saying that Mulayam Singh Yadav's family has weakened the party and divided its supporters.

"Akhilesh ke kheme ke log candidate honge, toh Shivpal ke log andar hi andar unhe haraane ki koshish karenge. Aur agar Shivpal ke kheme ke log candidate honge, toh Akhilesh ke log unhe haraane ki koshish karenge. Muslim samaj ko aise me SP ko apna vote dekar kharab nahi karna hai. (If the candidate is from Akhilesh's camp, Shivpal's supporters will try to defeat him. If the candidate is from Shivpal's camp, Akhilesh's supporters will try to defeat him. In this situation, the Muslim community should not waste its vote on the SP)," she said.

Congress, on the other hand, has no vote base, and voting for the party would only result in benefiting the BJP, Mayawati added. She asked the Muslim community to unite and vote for BSP, just like the Dalit community in the area and defeat BJP.

"The discrimination against Muslims increased manifold after the formation of the BJP government, and they have been targeted in the name of gau raksha, ghar wapsi, love jehad... The community members are now insecure about protection of their religion, lives and property." Mayawati said during her 85-minute speech.