Mayawati pays CEC a thank-you visit

NEW DELHI: BSP supremo Mayawati had a busy schedule during her first visit to the Capital after taking over as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh—meeting prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the members of her party’s national executive, besides mediapersons.

Amidst all this, she made it a point to undertake a trip to the Nirvachan Sadan to convey her special thanks to the Election Commission for ensuring free and fair polls in the state.

During the entire staggered, seven-phased elections, the BSP chief had repeatedly expressed her gratitude to the Election Commission for conducting a violence-free and fair election, which eventually paved the way for her return to power in the politically-crucial state after a gap of three years, riding on huge popular mandate.

She followed up her words by meeting CEC N Gopalaswami here on Sunday. “The Election Commission has an important role to play in safeguarding the Constitution. They conducted the UP assembly elections in a free and fair manner.

People belonging to weaker sections and the poor among upper castes, who were not allowed to vote earlier, exercised their franchise this time. This has strengthened democracy. The special steps they have taken are appreciable,” she told newspersons after meeting the CEC.

“I met the CEC and thanked him for ensuring a free and fair poll in Uttar Pradesh,’’ she told reporters after an hour-long meeting in the Nirvachan Sadan.

Her laudatory words for the Election Commission are in sharp contrast to the remarks made by the Samajwadi Party chief, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had come down heavily on the Commission for the stringent measures taken during the polls —words which were seen as an admission of defeat even before the results were out.

Ms Mayawati not only lavished praise on the Election Commission, but also hoped that it’d conduct elections in various states and next Lok Sabha polls on the pattern of UP.