Mayawati blames UPA for BSP's rout in Uttar Pradesh

BSP supremo Mayawati Saturday blamed the Congress for her party's rout in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls. She said supporting the Congress-led UPA was suicidal and her party paid the price for it.

The Bahujan Samaj Party's state tally was reduced to zero in the just-concluded general elections. She blamed price rise of essential commodities, scams and inflation during the tenure of the UPA for her party's defeat. She said the discredited central government brought her party infamy, resulting in disastrous poll results.

Facing the worst ever rout in her party's electoral history, the Dalit leader also blamed the "communal politics" of the BJP, specially that pursued by party general secretary and close Modi aide, Amit Shah, for her party's decimation. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister told reporters that the upper castes and the Muslims had deserted her party in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

She, however, denied media reports that her Dalit vote bank had shifted to the BJP. She said the party's traditional vote bank was intact and also claimed the BSP had increased its votes hare in the 2014 polls over 2009.