With barely two days left for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, BJP is making all out efforts to garner support of smaller parties and Independent MLAs to ensure victory in two of the 12 seats going to polls on January 23.
BJP with 41 MLAs can ensure victory of only one candidate, leaving a surplus of 10 votes. However, banking on support of Independents and smallar parties, it has fielded two nominees -- Lakshman Acharya and Dayashankar Singh.
"We are relying on conscience votes to meet the shortage," BJP leader and spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak told PTI today.
BJP sources said the party was in touch with certain disgruntled BSP MLAs to get the additional votes.
After suffering a humiliating defeat in the just concluded Cantonment Board elections, especially in Varanasi and Lucknow, BJP did not want to leave anything to chance.
The party formed a four-member committee comprising BJP Legislature Party leader Suresh Kumar Khanna, and senior leaders Hriday Narain Dixit, Dharmpal Singh and Ramapati Shastri to oversee the Council polls.
"We are banking on extra votes and analysing the situation," Pathak said.
The biennial elections have become interesting in the wake of Congress extending support to ruling Samajwadi Party, and RLD backing BSP's third candidate.
