RPI not averse to pact with BSP in UP: Gavai

NAGPUR AFPRIL 30: Republican Party of India (RPI) president R S Gavai today said he was not averse to the idea of having some kind of under...

NAGPUR AFPRIL 30: Republican Party of India (RPI) president R S Gavai today said he was not averse to the idea of having some kind of understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking at a `meet-the-press’ programme organised by Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ), he said if the BSP supremo is prepared to shed his confrontationist stand, then the proposals to have understanding with BSP could be easily considered. About BSP’s shifting stand on national issues and changing partners, Gavai said there is no point in singling out the BSP. Almost every major national and regional party has done so and compromised with its avowed principles and policies. Blaming Kanshi Ram alone on this count is not fair, he added.

He recalled that the RPI was a force to reckon with in Uttar Pradesh. But after B P Maurya left the party there was a vacuum, which was filled by the BSP. The RPI is in the process of reviving state units in several north Indian states, he said.

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In reply to a question about the political developments in Delhi, he said “I am very unhappy. It is nothing but rank opportunism to somehow grab power. Unfortunately, the situation is likely to remain unchanged for some more time. Dissolution of Lok Sabha followed by snap polls would not make any material difference to the fluid situation because no party is in a position to gain absolute majority in Lok Sabha.”

Gavai, who was visiting the city first time after becoming the president of unified RPI, faced a volley of questions about the controversy surrounding the RPI’s organisational elections. According to him, the election held on March 27 was not in keeping with the party constitution and hence the process was scrapped. But Prakash Ambedkar, who conducted the election in the capacity as election officer, submitted a report to the Election Commission while Gavai submitted a separate report.