Known for issuing statements against the Congress and Samajwadi Party, Mayawati has all of a sudden given a call to hit the road and protest against the BJP. Mayawati on her own issued the statement against the BJP.

During the last few elections, the BSP had been seeing a decline in vote percentage. And in terms of seats in Parliament and the state assemblies. So much so, the BSP could not even open its account in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2022 UP assembly polls, too, the BSP could win only one seat that, too, due to the “individual personality and appeal” of the candidate.

In the last few years it was observed that Mayawati was under tremendous pressure from unidentified forces and she stopped being critical of BJP. On the contrary, she was more critical of the Samajwadi Party, and the Congress.

With a result that there was large-scale exodus of leaders and workers from the BSP to the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and to the BJP. So much so, former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi joined hands and succeeded in harnessing SC & ST support in the name of saving the Constitution from BJP depredations.

The Samajwadi Party surprised everybody with its best performance by getting 39 seats and became the third largest party in the Lok Sabha. Even the Congress notched six seats!

The BSP was formed in 1984 by the late Kanshiram. Mayawati was UP Chief Minister four times, thrice with the support of the BJP. Mayawati became Chief Minister for the fourth time when in 2007, the BSP got majority on its own.

During last 40 years the BSP has experimented with alliance politics and increased its vote percent at the cost of the partner. BSP has allied with the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the BJP. Now it is to be seen whether BSP is keen to revive the party to capture power or help the BJP to prevent the shifting of the Dalit vote to the Samajwadi Party and to the Congress. (IPA Service)