Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), in its desperate bid to stage a comeback in electoral politics of Uttar Pradesh, has pulled all stops for a mega rally in Lucknow on October 9 to mark the death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram.
The rally will be held at the Kanshi Ram memorial after a gap of four years, with her party leaders projecting it as a show of strength meant to galvanise the party’s rank and file ahead of the 2027 UP Assembly elections. The BSP has been struggling to make its mark in state politics for several years.
The political analysts are wary of the claims of the BSP as they feel “the era of revival’ of the party pursuing the caste-based identity politics is over.
“The exclusive caste-based identity politics has now transcended to inclusive politics since Narendra Modi took over as Prime minister in May 2014. The BJP’s opponents denounce the Hindutva politics as divisive, it has played wonders on the ground as Hindutva is a wider canvass with an inclusive agenda’’, said Dr AK Verma, director of Centre for Study of Society and Politics.
He added, “Hindutva per se is inclusive where every identity like caste, language and religion is included and none is excluded.”
For weeks the BSP leaders and workers have been engaged in mobilising people for the October 9 rally, reaching out to people at the grassroots level, especially those belonging to the communities like Dalits, minorities and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), to urge them to reach Lucknow for the event.
The BSP supporters have come up with several new slogans, songs, posters and banners, doing wall paintings in villages to invite people to the Lucknow rally. The party has also been running a big social media campaign in this regard.
Last time Mayawati addressed such a rally was on October 9, 2021, ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly polls. The BSP was however reduced to just one seat in the polls while its vote share dipped to 12.8 per cent. In the 403-member House, the BSP’s lone MLA is Uma Shankar Singh from Ballia.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party faced another setback, failing to open its account. In this backdrop, the October 9 rally is being seen in state political circles as Mayawati’s all-out attempt to kickstart the process of the BSP’s revival, which has put her rivals on alert.
“Caste identity is important. If it does not lead to social and economic empowerment then it loses its meaning. How long the deprived sections could have relied on the caste identity alone. The BJP under Narendra Modi filled this gap and integrated the deprived sections of society like Dalits and extreme OBCs in the power structure’’, said Dr Verma.
“After the BSP was voted out of power in 2012 UP assembly elections and Samajwadi Party formed the government in 2012, Dalits the core vote bank of the BSP were marginalised in UP’s politics. The BJP not only recognised this situation, it accommodated the deprived sections of society in main stream power structure by sharing actual power in party organisation and in government’’, said Dr Verma and added BJP successfully integrated the caste-based identity politics with main stream politics’. The BSP, however, refused to admit that the identity politics has transcended to inclusive politics. A BSP leader said, “the politics has instead evolved into a more complex and localised dynamic’’.
“While overt, large-scale caste mobilisation has weakened since the 2014, caste identity remains a crucial factor influencing electoral strategy, candidate selection, and party alliances. The recent ban on caste-based rallies further complicates this landscape, though it is unlikely to erase deeply entrenched societal divisions’’, said the BSP leader.
For the upcoming rally, the BSP leaders and activists have coined slogans such as “Dalit, Pichare, Alpasankhyak ki awaaz, Bahujan Samaj ka naya aagaz” (voice of Dalits, OBCs and minorities, it’s a new beginning of Bahujan society), or “Ration nahi, sashan chahiye… Lucknow chalo, Lucknow chalo (we want government, not ration, let’s reach Lucknow)”.
“Behen ji (Mayawati) just gave a call to mark the death anniversary of Kanshi Ram ji, rest is being done by followers of Kanshi Ram on their own. They are making their own arrangements to come to Lucknow. They are preparing songs, slogans and wall paintings to mobilise others,” state BSP president Vishwanath said.
He said the October 9 rally will be addressed by Mayawati to give her “important message to not just Dalits but also OBCs and minorities and all those deprived, who are seeking justice and feel that there was better governance and law and order during the BSP regime in the state”.
In her address, Mayawati would also give directions to the BSP cadre and supporters for the party’s future course of action.
Pal said, “We are not a ‘B’ team of any party and I would not comment on leaders who do not matter. Just like 2007, the BSP is preparing on the ground to form its next government in 2027.”