Now there appears to be change in the ground realities, with disenchantment prevailing in a section of the people against the present dispensation. There is a feeling in the party that the grassroots supporters, especially Dalits, who had shifted loyalties to the BJP, are feeling suffocated in the saffron party and could be brought back, writes M Hasan.
Lucknow, October 15: Highly enthused over massive turnout of supporters at BSP rally in Lucknow on October 9, the party chief Mayawati has summoned a conference of state party functionaries here to chalk out action plan for state assembly election in 2027 and also Panchayat elections next year. The rally has renewed a sense of hope in the party as she plans to tour various parts of Uttar Pradesh to mobilise the cadre. The party today also announced first list 40 candidates for November state assembly election in Bihar.
Mayawati’s nephew, Akash Anand will also tour the state. According to the party sources moves are afoot to bring back leaders who had left BSP during the last few years with a focus on Muslim, extremely backward, Dalit, and Brahmin communities. Tomorrow’s meeting is scheduled to finalise the BSP’s programme for Mayawati and Akash Anand. Sources said aunt-nephew would launch tour after Bihar elections. After electoral debacle in 2024 Lok Sabha election Mayawati had become inactive and largely staying in Delhi. The dithering on the part of leadership had also led to disappointment in the cadre. There has also been migration of supporters to BJP in previous two elections—2022,(assembly) and 2024 (Lok Sabha).
However now there appears to be change in the ground realities, with disenchantment prevailing in a section of the people against the present dispensation. There is a feeling in the party that the grassroots supporters, especially Dalits, who had shifted loyalties to the BJP, are feeling suffocated in the saffron party and could be brought back. In view of prevailing resentment in a section of Brahmin community against the present regime, BSP has again eyed on their support. However, she has announced a broad rainbow alliance of Dalit-Backward-Muslim to counter Samajwadi Party’s PDA (Pichchda-Dalit-Alapsakhyak).
While in 2022 assembly election BSP won just one seat, in 2024 Lok Sabha poll there was no victory. It had won ten Lok Sabha seats in 2019 in alliance with SP. But there was no alliance in 2024. Out of 79 Lok Sabha candidates, 69 lost their deposits, while only 10 candidates secured over 16% votes. During the elections, Mayawati had also taken sudden action against her nephew Akash Anand over a speech. The Samajwadi Party-led grand alliance used this opportunity to project BSP as having a behind-the-scenes deal with BJP. By promoting the slogan PDA (Backward, Dalit, Minority), Samajwadi Party attracted a large section of Dalit voters, with significant success.
Accused of losing her core vote bank due to inactivity, Mayawati responded on October 9, Kanshi Ram’s death anniversary, by calling supporters to Lucknow. BSP claimed around 5 lakh people attended the event. Amid enthusiastic crowds, Mayawati promised to engage more directly with workers and stated that her nephew Akash Anand would now spend more time among the supporters.
(M Hasan is former Chief of Bureau, Hindustan Times, Lucknow)
