AMN /
The BSP chief Mayawati has sought strict compliance of the model code of conduct in Uttar Pradesh following the announcement of election dates for the five states going to the polls in the country.
In a statement issued in Lucknow she demanded that the Election Commission instruct the Central government to present the general budget only after the completion of polling in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand.
She said voters can be influenced through the budget and thereby free and fair elections can be affected.
Welcoming the decision to hold seven-phased elections in UP where BSP candidates will be fielded, Mayawati said her party will also contest the Assembly polls in Uttarakhand and Punjab on its own.