The downfall of BSP and Mayawati

Lucknow, Mar 10: The first Dalit woman Chief Minister of the country, Mayawati is set to hit her lowest point in Uttar Pradesh politics. As of noon, the BSP was leading in just five seats, its vote share 12.84%. This is just a shade higher than its lowest ever, in 1993, of 11.12% of the votes.

 

 

 

In 2007, when the party had formed the government with 206 seats, it had got 30.43% votes. It had continued to retain 26% vote share in 2012, and even got 22.33% votes in 2017, when it got 19 seats. A teacher-turned-politician from Badalpur village of Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, 66-year-old BSP chief Mayawati, referred to popularly as “Behenji”, first became CM in June 1995. Though her first government could survive only a few months, over the years that followed, as Uttar Pradesh failed to vote in a government with complete majority, not just once but three times Mayawati became CM with the help of the BJP, until she led the BSP to a complete majority in 2007. She has thus served as UP CM four times.

 

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The 2007 election results, marking the largely Dalit backed BSP’s victory against the ruling Samajwadi Party, was historic. The credit was given to Mayawati’s successful “Sarvajan hitaye, Sarvajan sukhaye (for everyone, for everyone’s well being)” social engineering, attracting Brahmins who are considered vote influencers to the BSP. Having been handpicked by her mentor Kanshi Ram and handed over the reins of the BSP, formed in 1984, by him, this was Mayawati’s golden moment.

 

 

 

Some of the BSP’s successful slogans at the time were “Chad gundan ki chati par, mohar lagao hathi par” (referring to alleged hooliganism during the SP regime and the elephant symbol of the BSP); “Pandit Shankh bajayega, hathi badta jayega (The Brahmin will herald the forward march of the Dalit)”. As part of the Sarvajan initiative, Mayawati formed “Bhaichara groups” within the party, which remain functional to date in districts and claim to have taken forward the legacy of “Bahujan” to “Sarvajan Samaj”. Just before counting day, in a surprise move, Mayawati announced her brother Anand Kumar as vice-president of the party and nephew Akash Anand as national coordinator.

 

 

 

Before the results, BSP insiders insisted Mayawati was preparing for a “larger” role now and was focused on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. That she has also put in in-charges for different states. However, Thursday’s result might have put paid to that.