It is with hushed admiration and excitement that the pressing crowd watches Bahujan Samaj Party national president and its star campaigner, Mayawati, at her public rallies. For, apart from her promises of a just society and equitable governance, the one striking feature of her party is the soldier-like discipline that runs through it with a frenetic urgency.

Every rally of Mayawati is a masterful performance by the crack team that she has built over the last few years—the silent, diligent, committed Bahujan Samaj squad and troopers comprising state leaders, parliamentarians and legislators, district and panchayat workers, volunteers, who run the party like a well-oiled machine. Even the rally infrastructure is party-owned, from tents, stage and props to furniture, sound-system, even its own currency, of party fund coupons which help raise funds through the year. It is Maya’s Blue Bullion, the official BSP colour fluttering over all she surveys. If Maya can do this to her party, she can give a crack administration too, they reckon. Her slogan could well be “Ladega to jeetega”.

The BSP regulation of discipline, focus and engagement runs through the rank and file with steely determination, and is reflected in Maya’s campaign schedule, location, planning, security, speeches, rally set-up, tents, stage, refreshments and travel. The Bahujan Voluntary Force, set up at every district, has volunteers in the official blue uniform, including saris for women, with brass stars and belts, caps and lapels, who wield lathis and sticks, assisting the police in controlling party voters and followers, keeping them in line and checking for discord and disarray.

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