New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief, Mayawati, on Saturday alleged that a malicious campaign of fake and misleading surveys was being run against her party ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab. In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said the alleged campaign was being driven by casteist elements in the media and social media, accusing them of using financial power to influence public perception of the BSP.Mayawati said the party was intensifying its grassroots preparations for the upcoming elections, including the selection of strong candidates, but was being targeted through what she described as fake and sponsored surveys."In the context of the upcoming Assembly General Elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, amidst intensive grassroots preparations, including the selection of strong and robust candidates for the party, a malicious campaign of fake and diversionary surveys/polls has already been initiated here by casteist media/social media, under a conspiracy leveraging the misuse of financial power, and it is extremely distressing and unfortunate that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is naturally being targeted in this," she said.The BSP chief further alleged that casteist sections of the media had repeatedly circulated falsehoods and baseless narratives against her party during elections, portraying it as electorally weaker through what she termed fake and sponsored surveys.

Referring to the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Mayawati said the BSP had defied predictions and expectations by securing a full majority and forming the government in the state.She said the party's government had subsequently ushered in what she described as a new constitutional era of welfare, with an emphasis on the rule of law, justice for all and the welfare of society.Mayawati also appealed to people dissatisfied with the governments led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at present in Uttar Pradesh and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the past, to remain alert to what she described as the opposition's tactics and malicious propaganda."Therefore, this appeal is to the entire society weary of first SP rule and now BJP rule in U.P., and especially to the people of the 'Bahujan Samaj,' that they must remain vigilant against all tactics of the opposition parties and casteist elements — such as 'saam, daam, dand, bhed (persuasion, price, punishment, division)' — and all kinds of false and malicious propaganda, and continue to devote themselves wholeheartedly and relentlessly to forming the BSP government for the fifth time under the leadership of their honourable Behanji, in which lies the welfare and security of all," she said.The BSP chief's remarks come as political parties prepare for the upcoming Assembly elections in the three states, with the BSP seeking to strengthen its grassroots presence.

/IANS