Date:20/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/20/stories/2004022007811100.htm

National

BSP to go it alone in LS polls

ROHTAK, FEB. 19. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will contest the Lok Sabha elections on its own in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir (J and K).

Announcing this at a press conference at the State BSP headquarters here today, the National BSP general secretary, who is in charge of the party affairs in the North, Narender Kashyap, said the BSP would contest all the 34 Lok Sabha seats in these States.

He said that the selection of candidates for these seats was in the final stages. The party president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati, would launch the party's election campaign at `Samajik avm Arthik Parivartan Maharally' at Rohtak on March 10, where the names of the party candidates would be announced, Mr. Kashyap said.

PTI