The BSP had always cultivated the legend of its own exceptionalism. (Party founder Kanshi Ram, when asked if he was leftist, rightist or centrist, answered, “I am an opportunist”, pointing to the way Dalits had been systematically denied opportunity and were now determined to snatch it for themselves.) And led by Dalit warrior princess Mayawati, the party has managed to refashion itself electorally, reaching out to forward castes. Despite her outrageous personality cult and corruption charges, she has been impressively tough on crime and an exacting administrator. Her phenomenal 2007 victory in Uttar Pradesh (managing a single-party majority after almost 20 years) was a psychological boost, making everyone acknowledge that she was a political force of nature who could not be contained in UP alone for long. While she has always been candid about her maximalist plans for herself, the idea of Maya for PM became a concrete possibility after the trust vote, when the Left put its imprimatur on the idea, providing intellectual backing to her ambition.

But will the BSP’s now-or-never gambit pay off? It has fielded more candidates than any other party in a massive nationwide blitz, but was Mayawati’s stupendous success in UP a kind of peak that is bound to erode over time, or does it indicate a larger dominion to come? We’ll find out soon enough.