Lucknow, June 28: Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati on Monday said that her party is not contesting the ongoing Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh since they are not being held in a transparent manner.

"We have decided not to contest zila panchayat elections in UP. I want to clarify if the elections would have been impartial, then we would have contested," she said.  BSP President Mayawati Lashes Out at Samajwadi Party, Accuses It of Planting Stories in Media

The elections will be held on July 3 and the results will be announced the same day. The Panchayat polls are being considered as the semi-final for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to be held in 2022.

The BSP had performed poorly in the first phase of the Panchayat polls held in May and finished third, lagging behind the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party.

Mayawati's announcement came a day after she announced that her party will contest next year's Assembly polls alone and there will be no alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, as announced by a section of media.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2021 03:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).