Congress Leaders Visit Mayawati's House Uninvited, Turned Away By Security

Two Congress leaders turned up at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati's house in Lucknow without an appointment on Tuesday, but were turned away by her security team.

Congress leaders Rajendra Pal Gautam and Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia reached the BSP chief's house on Tuesday and requested a meeting with her. Her security team passed the message to the politician, one of the country's most prominent Dalit voices, but she was unwilling to meet them.

The two politicians sidestepped media queries as to the purpose of the move, claiming it was a courtesy visit to enquire about the politician's health. They said she had not been making public appearances, raising concerns about her health.

Punia, however, denied reports that the Dalit leaders had approached Mayawati to convey a message from senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

"That's not correct. I am currently in Raebareli only at Rahul Ji's programme," Punia told PTI.

Also read: Mayawati Says BSP To Contest All Elections Alone, Including 2027 UP Polls

Unauthorised Meeting, Says Congress

A red-faced Congress said the meeting was unauthorised and has sought an explanation from the two leaders.

Congress' Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande told PTI that the party had taken notice of the visit.

"This was not an authorised delegation from the party. The party has taken cognisance of the matter and issued show-cause notices to the leaders who went there," Pande said.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai also said that the party did not permit the visit.

"Such visits are pre-decided and cleared by top leadership well in advance," he said.

The Congress has been trying to reel in Mayawati for an alliance since before the 2017 elections to take on the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The party already has an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the most populous state of the country, and partnering with Mayawati's party would help the bloc prevent division of Muslim, Dalit and OBC votes.

Also read: "Akhilesh Yadav Double-Faced": Mayawati Heaps Praises On Yogi Adityanath

The Samajwadi Party and Congress' combined front against the BJP in the 2024 general elections stopped the ruling party in its tracks, with both parties winning over half of the state's 80 seats.

Mayawati contested the 2019 general elections in alliance with her arch-rival, the Samajwadi Party, and reaped the benefits. Her party won 10 Lok Sabha seats, Akhilesh Yadav's won only 5. However, since then, she has shied away from all alliances and is equidistant from both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

Also read: How The Alliance Of Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav Lost Uttar Pradesh

The BSP has never had a formal pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.