Not ‘B-team’, but only party that can defeat BJP, says BSP’s Akash Anand

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national coordinator Akash Anand on Friday firmly rejected the opposition’s claim of the Mayawati-led party being a “B-team” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), adding that only the BSP can “stop” the ruling party.
“It is a very good propaganda that has been run over the past few years. We have countered this on the ground. Even ‘Behen ji’ (Mayawati) is talking about this,” Anand told PTI in an exclusive interview.
The 28-year-old politician, who is the nephew and political successor of the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, stated that the BSP was not “gaining” anything from the BJP.
“So, there is no reason to help them. We field candidates after looking at the backward and the poor community people and their caste combination,” he said.
“If any one can stop the BJP, it is the Bahujan Samaj Party and respected Behen ji (Mayawati). There is no other political party that can stop the BJP except the BSP,” Anand further stated.
The BSP national coordinator also explained why the party decided to go solo in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
“We did not gain any vote-share in the past from any alliance. Therefore, we decided to contest alone. However, if we are in a position to be in the government and serve the people meaningfully, then we will extend support to a government,” he noted.
Dharmendra Yadav, the cousin of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, is “not capable,” Anand asserted.
“We feel that the candidates that we have fielded, will be apt to work in that particular constituency. We are not concerned about who is contesting, be it Dharmendra Yadav or anyone. We think he is not capable, that is why we have fielded a solid candidate from there,” the young leader said, when asked about the BSP fielding the highest number of Muslim candidates in Uttar Pradesh.