The Bahujan Samaj Party hit the streets after eight years when it came out in support of the Bharat Bandh on the reservation issue on Thursday. The bandh might have been a whimper in Uttar Pradesh, but the party is keen on marking its presence forcefully.
Mayawati posted on X that her party had effectively participated in the bandh and that workers had put up a united front. She also slammed the Congress and the Samajwadi Party for their indifferent approach to the issue which, as per her, was an indication of their casteist approach.
With the party on the streets, Mayawati is once again re-asserting her status as the country’s strongest dalit leader. She has lumped the entire opposition in the same bracket saying that people are angry with the conspiracies of the SP, Congress and BJP which are trying to make reservation ‘ineffective’ and ‘ultimately to end it’.
She also called upon her followers to ensure that they kept fighting as the success of these protests can be ensured only by them. In addition, she has questioned the INDIA bloc’s commitment to the Constitution which it had used as a rallying point in the Lok Sabha election. Trying to do away with reservations—which is against the spirit of the Constitution and yet the parties being mild on the issue—is a question she has raised more than once.
Mayawati has been the first big politician to raise objection to the creamy layer issue. This has the potential to act as a lightning rod for dalit voters to rally around her.
This assertiveness also has the potential to stem disenchanted party people from deserting the BSP which has been on a downward spiral for more than a decade now.
The last time BSP workers hit the streets was in 2016 when BJP’s Daya Shankar Singh called Mayawati a ‘prostitute’. The storm had caused the BJP to expel Singh from the party for six years. He is now a MLA.
However, after that, the BSP has not demonstrated its numerical strength over any issue. Even Mayawati’s birthdays are no longer the symbol of dalit assertiveness that they once were.
Assembly byelections in the state on 10 seats—which the party will be fighting alone—could reflect this new found confidence and assertiveness.
