LUCKNOW, May 17 -- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president Mayawati on Saturday attempted to reposition her party at the centre of Uttar Pradesh's emerging economic and welfare debate by focusing on the recent storm devastation, rising fuel prices and growing household distress, in what political observers see as a calibrated intervention ahead of the 2027 state assembly polls.

In a statement posted on X, the four-time former chief minister mounted a twin attack on both the Uttar Pradesh government and the Centre, urging immediate relief for families affected by the recent deadly storms while simultaneously criticising the increase in petrol and diesel prices that she said would deepen the burden on poor families, labourers, farmers...