New Delhi: Lauding the new tie-up between the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) and the ShrimoniAkali Dal (SAD) on Saturday, BSP chief Mayawati said Dalits, farmers, youth and women are suffering the most under the Congress rule in Punjab. It is very important to make this alliance a success in the 2022 assembly polls in order to get rid of corruption, unemployment, poverty that are highly prevalent under Congress rule, she added."Although every section of the society in Punjab is battling with poverty, corruption and unemployment, etc., prevalent here under the rule of the Congress party, it is being suffered the most by Dalits, farmers, youth and women, etc., to get rid of them. It is very important to make this alliance a success," Mayawati's tweet, in Hindi, read. Echoing the words of her new political ally SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, she said that the alliance announced by the SAD and the BSP in Punjab is a new political and social initiative, which will surely usher in a new era of development, progress and prosperity. Wishing the best to the people, she said the alliance is a " historic step".

Badal while announcing the alliance said, "Today, is a historic day...a big turn in Punjab's politics."

The SAD and the BSP will jointly contest the 2022 polls and other elections, Badal said, reported PTI. The BSP will fight 20 of the 117 assembly seats in Punjab, while the rest will be fought by the SAD, he added, reported the news agency.

Kartarpur Sahib in Jalandhar, Jalandhar-West, Jalandhar-North, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur Urban, Dasuya, Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district, BassiPathana, Sujanpur in Pathankot, Mohali, Amritsar North and Amritsar Central are among the seats from where Mayawati-led BSP will contest. The SAD broke off its alliance with the BJP last year over the three contentious farm laws.