BSP to hold strategy session for 2017 UP Assembly polls

Lucknow: After success of candidates backed by BSP in Uttar Pradesh panchayat polls, party supremo Mayawati will hold a strategy session with senior party leaders here on Thursday to fine tune arrangements for 2017 Assembly elections.

The meeting will be attended by senior party functionaries including district unit presidents, party coordinators, incharge of assembly constituencies, sitting MLAs and probable candidates for the next elections, a senior party leader said.

Though the leaders invited for tomorrow's meeting have not been apprised of the agenda, they believe that discussions will veer around issues which the party can use to further strengthen its poll prospects in the backdrop of its good showing in the panchayat elections.

The party is in an upbeat mood following the good show in the panchayat elections.

Issues that can be used in the coming assembly polls as also areas which need to be strengthened to gain political mileage are likely to be discussed, he said.

"The results of the panchayat elections have proved that the mood of people is pro-BSP as candidates supported by BSP have got more votes," he said, adding that party leaders feel that had these elections been contested with more fanfare the results would have tilted more in favour of BSP.

"We contested the panchayat elections in a very modest manner but when the assembly polls are held there will be a proper campaign and full fledged publicity and so far better results are likely," he said.

Tomorrow's meeting is likely to discuss organisational matters too, he said. 

Referring to BSP-supported candidates who won panchayat polls, the leader said that the party will have to work out a plan to ensure that they (winning candidates) do not fall prey to allurements of other parties who have to put up a brave front before the people in the face of adverse results.

BSP is bouyed by the success of its 'nominees' in these elections and Mayawati had stated that the party has emerged as 'Number One' and the candidates supported by it have won by a large margin. She had also congratulated party workers for this showing.

Interestingly, BSP claims that 630 candidates supported by it have won, although ruling Samajwadi Party, which faced reverses in these polls as far as kith and kin of ministers and leaders are concerned, claimed that 80 per cent of those candidates backed by it have posted impressive victory.

In the just-concluded panchayat polls, even Congress failed to put up an impressive show even in its stronghold like Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Rahul Gandhi, and Rae Bareli, represented by Sonia Gandhi in Parliament.