Lucknow, (Samajweekly) The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will celebrate party president Mayawati’s 65th birthday on January 15 as ‘Jan Kalyankari Diwas’ in a simple manner in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The BSP, earlier, used to celebrate the occasion in a grand manner after it faced intense criticism on the issue, the party started celebrating the day as ‘Jan Kalyankari Diwas’.
According to party sources, Mayawati has directed party leaders and workers to help migrants, farmers, labourers and the poor people who are facing problems due to the economic slowdown.
Under the Jan Kalyankari Diwas programme, the BSP leaders will assist the needy, poor and the handicapped.
“We will visit villages and hospitals to distribute sweets and fruits,” said a BSP leader.
She has also asked the party leaders to follow the Covid-19 protocol announced by the government during her birthday celebration. There would be no gathering or assembly of workers, the party said.
Mayawati has been staying in Delhi since the pandemic began and there is no programme yet of her coming to Lucknow on her birthday.
She is holding regular review meetings to gear up the party cadre for the 2022 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
She has directed the party officers to strengthen the party organisation at the booth level and m efforts to win back the support of Brahmins, backward classes and Muslims in order to regain lost ground.
Party leaders said that there was no order yet from the party high command about financial contribution to the party fund , which is a regular practice on Mayawati’s birthdays.
The BSP has been losing ground in Uttar Pradesh.
The party did not win any seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. It bagged 19 seats in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and 10 in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, when it had an alliance with the Samajwadi Party but parted ways with SP soon after the results were declared.
Earlier, in October this year, the BSP faced a revolt when seven of its MLAs crossed over to the Samajwadi Party on the eve of the Rajya Sabha biennial elections. Mayawati later suspended the seven MLAs.
