2024 LS polls: BSP weighing its options, ploughing independent furrow for now

In an effort to remain equidistant from the ruling alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition formation, INDIA, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has taken a decision to walk out of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha when the Bill on the Delhi Ordinance comes up for voting.

Even though Mayawati has tried to project that the BSP is not interested in joining any political formation and that the party, instead, would choose to contest alone in the upcoming assembly elections, senior leaders of the BSP said that the party was holding internal consultations to decide if they should join hands with the Congress.

“It is no longer a secret that the BSP will not vote with the BJP or Congress. We will walk out on the Delhi ordinance when it comes up for voting. A decision was taken on the issue during the parliamentary meeting of the party earlier this week. After the meeting, we also had consultations with the BSP leadership, and a collective decision was taken on the issue,” said a senior leader of the BSP on the condition of anonymity.

Internal consultation process regarding alliances

Senior leaders of the party said that the BSP leadership was in the process of talking to all its Members of Parliament (MPs) to know about their views on an alliance with the Congress and other opposition parties. In a similar process, the BSP leadership is also holding consultations with all the district presidents in Uttar Pradesh to find out if the party unit is supportive of joining an alliance.

“The consultation process is going on. The views of all MPs of the BSP are being taken into account by the party leadership. We are also having a similar consultation process with all the district units because the district units or the local workers of the party are the best judges to decide if joining an alliance will work in favour of the party or if it is best suited to remain independent,” said a second BSP leader who is in the know of developments.

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Talking about the ongoing consultation process in the BSP, senior leaders of the party said that a similar consultation meeting was held in Delhi ahead of the Parliament session. Members of the BSP leadership are of the view that the party should not take a decision on an alliance just yet, but should wait for the results of the upcoming state polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.

Senior leaders of the party said that the BSP would not be averse to joining the state governments after the election results. “A decision on joining the government will be taken after the assembly election results are declared. In Rajasthan, the BSP was in alliance with the Congress, and in Madhya Pradesh, there was also an understanding between the two parties in the past. However, the purpose of the alliance with any political party should be to work for the betterment of the people and for social justice,” said the second BSP leader quoted above.

Members of the BSP elaborated that a section of the leaders suggested that they could reach an understanding with the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) because the voter bases of the three parties could complement each other in the state.

Goal is to increase its vote share

“The party leadership is clear that it should work towards increasing its vote share in Uttar Pradesh and all the election-bound states. It has been suggested that the state units and district units of the party must reach out to Muslims and non-Jatav Dalits who have not voted for the party in the last few elections. The first job is to strengthen the party and get back the voters and social base of the BSP,” the party leader added.

During the 2018 elections, the Mayawati-led BSP won two seats in Madhya Pradesh, but the party played a crucial role in helping the Congress reach the halfway mark in the assembly. In Rajasthan, the BSP managed to win six seats in the last election but most of the party members joined the Congress. BSP leaders are hopeful that they will again get to play a crucial role in the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan elections once the results are declared.

Also read: Mayawati targets political parties attending crucial Opposition meeting in Patna

Sources in the Congress say some senior leaders from the party’s UP unit had, a few months ago, discussed with a key Mayawati aide the possibility of an alliance with the BSP for the Lok Sabha polls. The backchannel talks were premised on the argument that both parties were now led by Dalits, while the Congress had also been trying to revive its outreach to the Brahmin and Muslim communities, both formidable voting blocs in UP, which Mayawati too had been wooing since she won her first absolute majority in the state in 2007.

However, the talks ended prematurely after a section of Congress leaders implored the party high command to have no truck with the BSP. These leaders, sources said, were of the view that Mayawati would embarrass the Congress the same way she publicly humiliated the Samajwadi Party when her alliance with Mulayam and Akhilesh fell apart following the 2019 general elections, despite the pact giving 10 seats to the BSP in the Lok Sabha. It was also communicated that the corruption cases against Mayawati made her an easy target for the BJP’s intimidation.

Mayawati’s political presence diminishing

Political analysts believe that Mayawati has a diminishing voter base in the three states where assembly elections are due in the next five months, which is why the BSP is mulling over the possibility of aligning with other political parties to remain relevant.

Also read: Dalit leaders Mayawati and Manjhi opting out of alliance could hurt Opposition

“The political presence of Mayawati is diminishing, and the situation is the same in Uttar Pradesh and other election-bound states. If this trend continues, it will become difficult for Mayawati to remain politically viable. The only option for her to remain politically relevant is to enter into alliances with other political parties. It is a very pragmatic move. The move is also important because the voter bases of Mayawati and Congress complement each other, and such an alliance will only benefit the two parties,” said Yatindra Singh Sisodia, professor and director at the Madhya Pradesh Institute of Social Science Research, Ujjain.