Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati on Friday rubbished reports of her party considering an alliance with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Mayawati told ANI in an exclusive interview: "There will be many states where elections will be held at the end of this year. The biggest state to go to polls is Maharashtra. We have come to know that there are reports in some newspapers and TV channels that the BSP is in touch with the NCP chief (Pawar), and there are talks of an alliance."
"We have denied these reports through our local unit. But, still I want to make it clear; that whether it is Maharashtra or some other state, our party will not compromise and form an alliance with any of the party in the polls. We are going to fight alone in the coming elections," she added.
Mayawati's emphatic denial of any talk of an alliance with the NCP came a day after her meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
That meeting reportedly created a buzz in Maharashtra about the possibility of an alliance between the NCP and the BSP just ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
Asked about Pawar's meeting with Mayawati, NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik had said this week that his party is in favour of having alliances with all like-minded people and parties, and on one platform.
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He said that not only was the BSP under consideration in this regard, but also the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and Left parties in the state.
He said that the NCP's aim was to build a formidable political force in the run-up to the upcoming elections, but added that no decision had been taken about forming any alliance with BSP as yet.
The Maharashtra unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party, however, charged the NCP with adopting a strategy to win over prospective allies to secure a plum deal before the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, which are scheduled for October this year.
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