After its poor show in the recently concluded Assembly elections in four states where its tally came down to eight from 17 in 2008,the BSP has decided to hold a Rashtriya Savdhan Maharally (national vigilant rally) at the Ramabai Ambedkar ground in Lucknow on January 15,birthday of party chief Mayawati. Mayawati Monday held her first formal meeting with party candidates for the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. The meeting in Delhi discussed the political situation and results of the Assembly elections in Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh,Delhi and Chhattisgarh. A leader present at the meeting said she assured the candidates that the Assembly poll results would not affect the party in Uttar Pradesh and asked them to work with full confidence. An MP who attended the meeting said Mayawati urged the candidates to work hard for the success of the rally. He said it would be a huge gathering and orders had been issued to ensure the arrival of 5,000 people from each Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP failed to win even a single seat in Delhi where the Aam Aadmi Party dented its vote base. In Rajasthan,the party came down to three from six seats in 2008,to four from seven in MP and to one from two in Chhattisgarh. A party coordinator said Mayawati was upset with the result and had begun changing responsibilities of coordinators in these states. About the name Savdhan rally,a party leader said it was to caution supporters,especially Muslims,who are feeling distraught after the Muzaffarnagar riots,amidst the increasing appearance of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh.
