The dream of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to register its maiden victory in the general elections in Uttarakhand appears to be shattered by the infighting in the rank and file of the State unit. The party which is the third largest force in the State is in bad shape after two of its three MlAs were suspended from the party recently.
The BSP is focusing more on Haridwar, Nainital and Tehri Garhwal parliamentary constituencies in the upcoming general elections where it is having a sizable support base. The BSP which got 6.77 per cent votes in the 2004 general elections increased its voting share to 15.29 per cent in the 2009 elections but still failed to open its account in the State.
This time the party has thrown its weight in the Haridwar seat where it has nominated Haji Mohammad Islam a candidate from minority community where the minority and dalit constitute about 45 per cent of the electorate. The party had cornered an impressive 23 per cent votes in the general elections of 2009 and managed to win three assembly seats in the Assembly elections of 2012 in Haridwar.
However, the BSPs chance to put a good performance in Haridwar got a severe jolt when two of its three legislators revolted against the selection of candidate and style of functioning of BSP State president Meghraj Singh.
Coming down heavily on dissident activity the party suspended Surendra Rakesh who is Social Welfare Minister in the State Government and Haridas the leader of BSP’s legislators in State Assembly. Both Surendra Rakesh and Haridas are MlA’s from Bhagwanpur and Jhabrera assembly constituencies of Haridwar respectively.
In the Assembly polls Surendra Rakesh polled more than thirty six thousand votes and cornered an about 47 per cent of total votes while Haridas got about twenty three thousand votes. The hostility of these two leaders can seriously damage the prospects of the party candidate in Haridwar. The State BSP president Meghraj Singh however is confident that the party would not be affected by the activities of the suspended leaders, he said that the people vote for party and a cadre based party like the BSP is unaffected by such incidences.