All parties should have come together against BJP: Congress' Pramod Tiwari on BSP going solo in LS polls

New Delhi: After BSP president Mayawati's announcement of contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls alone, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said on Monday that the BSP chief should have taken the current political scenario into account in order to defeat BJP.
"BSP chief Mayawati has refused to join the INDIA alliance before the elections. She said that she would have a post-poll alliance but today's political scenario is such that all opposition parties should have come together to fight against BJP," said Pramod Tiwari.
"BJP got just 37.8 percent of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. If the remaining 62.2 percent vote would have united, then we could have limited BJP to 100 seats. It was needed that all of us should have contested elections together. However, when we form government after the elections, she (Mayawati) will be welcomed into the alliance, depending on the conditions at that time," he added.
BSP chief Mayawati on Monday reiterated her party's stand for the 2024 Lok Sabha election and said that her party will contest the polls alone.
Addressing a press conference here, the BSP chief said that her party may consider about alliance once the elections are over.
"Our experience with alliances has never been beneficial for us and we suffer more losses from alliances. For this reason, most of the parties in the country want to form an alliance with BSP. An alliance can be considered after the elections. If possible, BSP can extend its support after the elections. Our party will fight the elections all alone," she said.
She also refuted the claims that she may take a retirement from politics, saying that she will continue to work to strengthen her party.
"Last month, I declared Akash Anand as my political successor, following which it was speculated in the media that I may soon retire from politics. However, I want to clarify that it's not the case, and I will continue to work towards strengthening the party," she said.
The BSP chief exhorted party leaders and workers to "work with full strength to help the BSP get a favourable verdict" in the 2024 election.
The BSP, a Scheduled Castes-centric party, was a major political force in Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s and 2000s but witnessed a gradual decline over the past decade.
In the 2022 assembly elections, the party polled only 12.8 percent of votes, its lowest in almost three decades.