Consistent with party chief Mayawati’s objections to the proposal since 2019, the BSP has opposed the idea of simultaneous elections in its submission to the committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind, The Indian Express has learnt. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the need for simultaneous elections and invited leaders for an all-party meeting soon after the 2019 elections, the BSP was among the parties that did not attend. On the day of the meeting, June 19, 2019, Mayawati said in a series of tweets that elections cannot be a problem for any democratic nation and cannot be seen with the perspective of expenses. According to sources aware of the situation, the BSP has told the Kovind committee that it is opposed to the idea of holding simultaneous elections. The party, however, did not meet the Kovind committee to make its representation during the consultative process, they said. When asked, BSP leaders said they were unaware about the party’s stance on the issue. A national office-bearer of the BSP said: “I am not aware what the party has submitted to the (Kovind) panel. The party has not formally told its leaders that whether it has made any submission or not.” BSP’s UP president Vishwanath Pal the issue was a national-level matter. “I cannot comment on this at present,” he said.
