BSP supremo Mayawati.
PTI file photo
Lucknow: Terming the recent reports in a section of media that BSP was contemplating to join the opposition alliance as "rumours" and "misleading", BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday made it clear that her party was firm on its decision to go alone in Uttar Pradesh in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
In a series of posts on 'X' (formerly Twitter), Mayawati also cautioned the media against ''spreading rumours'' and risk of losing its "credibility".
''BSP is preparing to contest the next LS elections on its own and any speculation about alliance or third front is nothing but fake news...media should not risk losing its credibility by spreading such rumours,'' the BSP supremo said.
''It seems the rival parties are perturbed over BSP's decision to go solo in the LS polls and they have been resorting to rumours about alliance to mislead the people....we are firm on our decision to contest the LS polls on our own,'' she added.
Mayawati's assertions about going solo in the next general elections came amid reported attempts by the Congress to persuade the BSP to join the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A). Media reports attributed the delay in the declaration of candidates by the Congress and BSP to the seat-sharing talks.
Earlier also Mayawati had said that her party would not have any arrangements with any political party in the state for the Lok Sabha polls. ''The political situation in the country is changing very fast owing to the anti-people policies being pursued by the BJP and Congress and in such a situation BSP will play a crucial role in the elections,'' she had said.
''The next LS polls are likely to be interesting and bitterly fought,'' the BSP leader remarked.
BSP, which had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP), had won ten seats in the state. In the 2022 state assembly polls, the BSP contested the elections alone and managed to win only one seat.