Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday 22 March 2009: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Saturday promised reservation to Dalit Christians and upper caste poor as she launched her poll campaign from here.
Mayawati flew to the Kerala capital to kick off her nationwide 52-day poll campaign, vowing to clamp down on terrorism and Maoist violence in the country.
“Labourers, religious minorities and the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe communities continue to be aggrieved even 61 years after independence. Many from these communities have taken to Naxalism (Maoism) and other wrong ways because of this neglect,” said Mayawati.
“The BSP has clear cut policies on foreign affairs, agriculture and economics. All post-independence governments have sacrificed governance to the interests of the rich land-owning class,” she said.
The BSP has decided to contest all the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Its star candidate here will be former Congress MP and three time former state minister Neelalohithadasan Nadar, who has been in a number of parties during his political career.