Mayawati’s dream of becoming the next prime minister of India may have been shattered by the poor show by the BSP-SP-RLD alliance in the just-concluded parliamentary elections, but her party has been the biggest gainer by joining hands with these two regional parties.
After drawing a blank in the 2014 parliamentary polls in UP, the alliance helped Bahujan Samaj Party win 10 Lok Sabha seats despite the pro-Narendra Modi wave which saw the fall of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi from his pocket borough, Amethi.
Concerned over the existential crisis staring at BSP and also her own political future, Mayawati put everything at stake. She not only joined hands with bitter rival Samajwadi Party but also campaigned for her bete noire, Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, in Mainpuri, asking her supporters to back him.
Known for successfully managing the transfer of her core votes, Mayawati benefited from her partners this time, bagging as much as 19.26 per cent of the votes.
The poll performance not only resurrected her outfit but has also brought it back in political reckoning by sending the second largest number of MPs from UP to the Lok Sabha after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
After stitching the alliance, Mayawati went for an all-out campaign for candidates fielded by the alliance parties and the large crowds that came to joint rallies, only fuelled belief that the BJP applecart could be upset. It also kindled the prime ministerial aspirations of Mayawati.
During a poll rally in Ambedkar Nagar, the BSP chief clearly indicated this by saying: “If all goes well, I may have to seek election from here as the road to national politics passes through Ambedkar Nagar.”
Mayawati won Lok Sabha elections from Ambedkar Nagar in 1989, 1998, 1999 and 2004. In 2009, the BSP had won the highest number of Lok Sabha seats — 20 — from UP.
However in 2014, the BSP was wiped out in the Lok Sabha election and could win only 19 seats in the Assembly polls as Dalit votes crossed over to the BJP. By winning 10 Lok Sabha seats this time, the BSP appears to have won back the Dalit voters to some extent.
