The baby blue elephant is growing up
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati created history in 2007 when she single-handedly steered her party to victory in Uttar Pradesh.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati created history in 2007 when she single-handedly steered her party to victory in Uttar Pradesh. Congress star Rahul Gandhi and the BJP’s Rajnath Singh watched helplessly as the blue elephant stormed its way to the chief minister’s office.
Buoyed by her landslide victory, Mayawati trained her eyes on Maharshatra and landed at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on November 25 last year to hold her ‘mother of all rallies’. The fact that a huge crowd thronged the maidan to hear Mayawati’s speech was enough to make other political parties in the state sit up and take note. That was the beginning of a political earthquake that hit India and is continuing to make its presence felt.
The latest case in point is the Karnataka assembly poll. Though the BSP’s performance has been far from satisfactory, the party has managed to carve an identity for itself. Of the total 224 seats, the BSP contested 219 seats and managed to corner 2.7 per cent of the votes. Taking advantage of the Congress’s inability to field strong candidates, the BSP has managed to make inroads among the Muslims and Dalits in the state. This is significant because the party had no organisational base in the state. Tusshar Jagtap, a doctor associated with the BSP in Maharashtra, says, “There are lessons to be learnt from Karnataka. A well-planned strategy coupled with strong leadership at the local level is the need of the hour. Be it Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh or Karnataka, the BSP has made its presence felt. Now, we need to create a strong identity for the party in each state.”
The BSP managed to obtain 3.7 per cent of the votes in the Gujarat assembly election and 7 per cent in Himachal Pradesh. With its eyes set on Maharashtra next year, the party has launched its public campaign across the state and has decided to field candidates in all 288 constituencies. Says state BSP president Vilas Garud, “Our objective was to make an organisational presence in Karnataka. We are better poised in Maharashtra. We are looking at winning seats in the assembly as well as the Lok Sabha elections here. The party received 4.6 per cent votes in the 2004 elections. We plan to move into double digits this time.”
To this end, the BSP is making concerted efforts to make inroads in Vidarbha and Marathwada. The two regions together account for 114 assembly seats — Vidarbha 66 and Marathwada 48 — of the 288 seats in the state assembly.
Republican Party of India (RPI-A) chief Ramdas Athavale has dismissed the BSP’s ability to replace the established Dalit political outfit. Says Dalit writer and politician Arjun Dangle, “Mayawati’s Uttar Pradesh formula won’t work in Maharashtra, because Dalits here already have established forums such as the RPI-A.”
Dalits account for 10.5 per cent of the votes in the state. Traditionally, they remained with the Congress, until Sharad Pawar’s NCP managed to woo the RPI-A to its fold in successive electoral battles. It remains to be seen if the BSP can wrest seats from the Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in 2009.
Buoyed by her landslide victory, Mayawati trained her eyes on Maharshatra and landed at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on November 25 last year to hold her ‘mother of all rallies’. The fact that a huge crowd thronged the maidan to hear Mayawati’s speech was enough to make other political parties in the state sit up and take note. That was the beginning of a political earthquake that hit India and is continuing to make its presence felt.
The latest case in point is the Karnataka assembly poll. Though the BSP’s performance has been far from satisfactory, the party has managed to carve an identity for itself. Of the total 224 seats, the BSP contested 219 seats and managed to corner 2.7 per cent of the votes. Taking advantage of the Congress’s inability to field strong candidates, the BSP has managed to make inroads among the Muslims and Dalits in the state. This is significant because the party had no organisational base in the state. Tusshar Jagtap, a doctor associated with the BSP in Maharashtra, says, “There are lessons to be learnt from Karnataka. A well-planned strategy coupled with strong leadership at the local level is the need of the hour. Be it Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh or Karnataka, the BSP has made its presence felt. Now, we need to create a strong identity for the party in each state.”
The BSP managed to obtain 3.7 per cent of the votes in the Gujarat assembly election and 7 per cent in Himachal Pradesh. With its eyes set on Maharashtra next year, the party has launched its public campaign across the state and has decided to field candidates in all 288 constituencies. Says state BSP president Vilas Garud, “Our objective was to make an organisational presence in Karnataka. We are better poised in Maharashtra. We are looking at winning seats in the assembly as well as the Lok Sabha elections here. The party received 4.6 per cent votes in the 2004 elections. We plan to move into double digits this time.”
To this end, the BSP is making concerted efforts to make inroads in Vidarbha and Marathwada. The two regions together account for 114 assembly seats — Vidarbha 66 and Marathwada 48 — of the 288 seats in the state assembly.
Republican Party of India (RPI-A) chief Ramdas Athavale has dismissed the BSP’s ability to replace the established Dalit political outfit. Says Dalit writer and politician Arjun Dangle, “Mayawati’s Uttar Pradesh formula won’t work in Maharashtra, because Dalits here already have established forums such as the RPI-A.”
Dalits account for 10.5 per cent of the votes in the state. Traditionally, they remained with the Congress, until Sharad Pawar’s NCP managed to woo the RPI-A to its fold in successive electoral battles. It remains to be seen if the BSP can wrest seats from the Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in 2009.