by Sanjay Saxena
Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is currently undergoing a difficult phase. There has been a significant decline in its vote bank, and nearly all of the old leaders associated with the party have left. There was a time when Mayaawati was considered the foremost leader of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh. Leveraging the power of Dalit votes, she could even negotiate political deals with other parties. However, since she started expanding her base to other communities, especially Muslims, Dalits have been relegated to a secondary status within the party. This shift has been troubling for Dalits, although they have never considered betraying Mayaawati. Recently, however, this trend seems to have changed, with Dalit voters increasingly aligning with either the BJP or the Samajwadi Party for their own benefits.
In this year’s general Lok Sabha elections, Mayaawati’s attempts to cater to all sections of society and find the key to power have clearly indicated that the political foundation of her party, which was built on Dalit votes, is now significantly weakened. This concern is now reflected in her statements. After the Lok Sabha elections, BSP chief Mayaawati has consistently emphasized ‘Bahujan Hitay, Bahujan Sukhay’ (welfare of the Bahujan community) in her messages to party workers, whereas previously, the party’s strategy and governance motto was ‘Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay’ (welfare of all). This shift suggests that she is now trying to regain the appeal of her core vote bank, the Bahujan community.
On the other hand, Mayaawati has been re-elected as the national president of the BSP at a national executive meeting. In her message to party workers, she spoke of Bahujan Hitay, Bahujan Sukhay, but did not mention ‘Sarvajan’ (all sections of society) even once. Mentioning upcoming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Jammu-Kashmir, and Delhi, she urged her workers to fully commit to the BSP movement and the interests of Bahujan identity. During a meeting with Uttar Pradesh unit officials on August 11, 2024, she announced the party’s intention to contest ten assembly seats in the by-elections, emphasizing that efforts to regain public trust in the Bahujan Hitay, Bahujan Sukhay principles and policies should continue. It is notable that when the BSP was in power in Uttar Pradesh, the motto was ‘Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay’. Mayaawati used to repeat this motto in her meetings as well.
For instance, in a message released on May 23, 2024, on the occasion of Gautam Buddha’s birth anniversary, Mayaawati mentioned that the BSP had governed Uttar Pradesh four times based on the principles of Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay, and had made significant efforts to establish an egalitarian society. Similarly, in messages given on January 1, January 15, and January 20, 2024, she reiterated the importance of Sarvajan Hitay.
These statements indicate that the motto of Sarvajan was prominent before the Lok Sabha election results, but since then, the focus has shifted solely to Bahujan. Why this change? The clue lies in Mayaawati’s address at the first national level meeting after the Lok Sabha election results, where she clearly stated that the opposition parties had misled the public with issues like ‘saving the Constitution,’ causing significant damage to the BSP. The election results have signaled to Mayaawati that just as the BJP had breached the BSP’s Dalit vote bank in 2014 and 2019, the Samajwadi Party and Congress are also making significant inroads now.
