In the previous Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP performed well by winning 10 seats after forming an alliance with its rival, the Samajwadi Party. However, in the current general elections, the Mayawati-led BSP failed to secure any seats, damaging its reputation as the representative of Dalits in the state.
The BSP’s choice of candidates seemed aimed at undermining the prospects of the opposition coalition. Nevertheless, the Samajwadi Party emerged as the largest party in the state, and the Congress, in collaboration with it, performed better. This suggests that Mayawati’s influence has waned in terms of electoral appeal.
Following a winless streak in the 2014 general elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) rebounded by securing a respectable 10 out of the 38 seats it contested within the alliance.
Positioning itself as the second-largest party, it garnered over 19 percent of the vote share, a significant portion of which has consistently supported Mayawati. This underscores her enduring significance in Uttar Pradesh’s electoral landscape, particularly due to the perception of her votes being transferable.
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In the current scenario, the BSP chief is encountering significant challenges, having declared her party’s intent to contest the upcoming polls independently. Complicating matters further, some of her MPs have either defected or shown indications of doing so. Moreover, political adversaries have labeled Mayawati’s party as the ‘B’ team of the saffron party due to her stances on various issues. The recent instance of her lone MLA, Uma Shankar Singh, voting for the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections has only reinforced these accusations.
Despite these hurdles, the BSP’s core Dalit vote bank remains a crucial factor in Uttar Pradesh’s electoral dynamics, where 80 MPs are elected to the Lok Sabha and Dalits comprise over 20 percent of the electorate. To counter Mayawati’s influence, the BJP has appointed Baby Rani Maurya, also a Dalit, as a senior minister in the state, while Akhilesh Yadav has allied with Chandra Sekhar Azad “Ravan” to diminish Mayawati’s political clout.
However, recent developments suggest that Mayawati’s BSP is losing relevance. Notably, she has distanced herself from both the ruling NDA alliance and the opposition INDIA coalition, opting to contest the elections independently. Several of her 10 MPs have either joined the BJP or the SP in the current polls. Furthermore, the BSP has fielded new candidates this time around.
For instance, BSP MP Ritesh Pandey from Ambedkarnagar recently joined the BJP, citing a lack of communication with the leadership despite his efforts to meet with Mayawati and other senior leaders. With Pandey’s defection, four out of ten BSP Lok Sabha MPs have either switched sides or expressed their intention to do so.
Additionally, the SP has nominated Afzal Ansari, BSP MP from Ghazipur, as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls. Moreover, Danish Ali, BSP MP from Amroha, was suspended last year by Mayawati for voicing support for TMC MP Mahua Moitra.
