Mayawati, who was projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha elections, managed to add just one seat to her tally of 20.

The BSP suffered a rude shock in Maharashtra where the party had fielded as many as 281 candidates. But the party failed to open its account in the state. This is despite the fact that Dalits constitute 30 per cent of Maharashtra's population.

Although Mayawati addressed a number of political meetings in Maharashtra, the BSP secured only five per cent votes which the party had already polled in the Lok Sabha polls.

The only consolation for Mayawati in Maharashtra and Haryana was that her Muslim candidates did well compared to others.

Significantly, the BSP did well in Nagpur central, Trirora, Kalamanur assembly constituencies. Party leaders were expecting the party to do well in Vidarbha region, too. But that did not happen.

Political observes feel that Mayawati's decision to break her alliance with Bhajan Lal's Janhit Congress Party affected both the parties. Had both the parties contested the polls together, the results would have been different. Mayawati had severed the alliance, accusing Bhajan Lal of hobnobbing with the BJP.

Although Dalits account for 20 per cent of Haryana's population, the BSP polled only seven per cent votes as against the 15 per cent it polled in the Lok Sabha polls. BSP contested 86 out of the 90 seats in Haryana.

Since the BSP had done well in the Lok Sabha polls, the party was expecting to bag 20-30 seats this time. But it managed to get only one seat, that too in Jagadhari where party candidate Akram Khan defeated Congress candidate by a margin of over 4000 votes. BSP candidates were placed second in three constituencies and third in 12 seats. The party candidates lost their deposits in majority of seats.

It may be mentioned that the BSP had not done well in elections held in states like Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. Only in Rajasthan BSP had six MLAs. But they deserted the party and joined the Congress.

Emboldened by the success of Congress in all the three states and the poor performance of BSP, UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that the results would pave the way for the success of Rahul Gandhi's Mission 2012 to bring the party to power in Uttar Pradesh.

The Samajwadi Party spokesman said voters had made it clear that they were fed up with caste and communal politics. He further said that minorities supported the Samajwadi Party, as was evident from the success of four party candidates in Maharashtra.

The results of the state assembly elections will also have an impact on the forthcoming by-elections for one Lok Sabha and 11 assembly seats in the state due in November. (IPA)