BSP Excluded From Opposition Meeting In Patna Tomorrow; BJD And YSR Congress Also Not Invited

Mayawati led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will not be participating in the opposition meeting in Patna on Friday (23 June).

The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday (21 June) confirmed that they did not invite the BSP to the Opposition meeting in Patna.

K C Tyagi, the chief spokesperson of JD(U), was quoted in an Indian Express report as saying that the BSP did not express any interest in joining the Opposition unity.

"Hence, the BSP president (Mayawati) has not been invited," Tyagi said, reports Indian Express.

Tyagi also mentioned that the BSP has criticised the Congress more than the BJP on several occasions.

According to Tyagi, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress have also not been invited to the Patna meeting.

Only those parties and leaders who are willing to form a front against the BJP and fight against it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have been invited, he added.

Meanwhile, the BSP leaders criticised the JD(U) and stated that no Opposition unity would be possible without them, particularly in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the Indian Express report, the party emphasised that the BSP has a strong vote base of Dalits in UP, which is recognised across the country.

They also claimed that Opposition unity without the BSP would not be successful in Uttar Pradesh.

Vishwanath Pal, the Uttar Pradesh president of the BSP, said the decision to join Opposition before 2024 rested solely with the party's national president Mayawati.

The BSP held a meeting of party leaders in Lucknow on Wednesday to discuss the current political scenario and the party's preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.