For BSP,it is now back to Bahujan politics

BSP founder Kanshiram had defined Bahujan as the combination of Dalits and OBCs.

Mayawati started working on this combination after the BSP’s poor show in the Lok Sabha election.

Until then,the party had depended on a Dalit-Brahmin combination,as it had worked well in the 2007 Assembly elections.

The Lok Sabha election compelled the BSP to go back to the basics and it has paid off. The party has won 9 of the 11 Assembly bypolls.

The party’s success in OBC constituencies like Etawah,Bharthna,Padrauna and Jhansi indicates that the party has been able to win over these communities.  

Barring Jhansi,in all the constituencies,the BSP candidates have won by a convincing margin,even in places like Bharthana and Etawah,which were regarded as Mulayam Singh’s stronghold.

In Jhansi,BSP’s Kailash Sahu won by a margin of only 9 votes,but here too the fact is that the party’s nearest rival was its rebel.

While the BSP’s state president and its OBC face Swami Prasad Maurya registered his victory by more than 53,000 votes in Padrauna,Mahendra Singh Rajpoot of BSP won the Etawah seat by a margin of 32,000 votes.

In Bharthana,BSP candidate Shiv Prasad Yadav won by 15,776 votes. In August,BSP candidate Mahesh Verma had won the Bidhuna seat in the OBC belt.

In the Lok Sabha election,the BSP had won 21 seats,ending up behind the Congress and the SP in the seat tally — both of which had won 22 seats each. The number was far below the party’s expectations. The party had won only two of the 17 reserved seats,while the SP won 10 reserved seats — that set the alarm bells ringing.

At a meeting of party leaders from various states,which was called in May to discuss the poll results,Mayawati had first spelled out the transition to Bahujan politics.

To promote the OBCs,she sent Ganga Charan Rajpoot to the Rajya Sabha,and Vinay Shakya who had lost to Mulayam Singh in the last Lok Sabha in Mainpuri was her choice for a berth in the Legislative Council.

She also projected her close aide Mines Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha by giving him five important portfolios and deputing him to hear the grievances of the legislators on her behalf.

Simultaneously,she started paying greater attention to the Dalits. She deputed officers especially to visit Dalit areas and get the feedback on the functioning of various government schemes and take corrective measures.

Mayawati had also tasked the then DGP to visit all places of crime against SCs/STs and pay cash relief,although the order was later withdrawn. She also introduced a quota for SCs/STs in government contracts.    

According to party sources,the CM may now revamp both her ministry and the party organisation by accommodating new OBC faces.

Apart from Maurya,the CM might consider the names of Mahendra Rajpoot,Mahesh Verma,and Shiv Prasad Yadav for induction in the government.

She will also continue to win over influential OBC leaders from other parties. There is little doubt that she will also vigorously pursue pro-Dalit policies.