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- BSP's electoral performance declined significantly since 2012.
- Mayawati's party won only one seat in the 2022 UP elections.
- BSP plans independent campaign for 2027 UP Assembly polls.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by former Chief Minister Mayawati, has been a major political force in Uttar Pradesh over the past few decades. The party was founded by Dalit activist Kanshi Ram and began emerging as a strong voice for the suppressed section of the society in the 1980s. It gained massive popularity in the coming years and Mayawati became the first Dalit woman chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1995. However, the party has witnessed a massive electoral downfall in the recent years.
BSP's Performance Over Years:
2007 Assembly election: While the party had remained part of the government for three times, it registered a massive victory in the 2007 assembly election by winning 206 of the 403 seats. Mayawati successfully completed her tenure as chief minister for five years. The party came in power with the support of significant vote share from the Dalit and Brahmin communities.
2009 Lok Sabha election: The Mayawati-led party managed to win 21 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The Congress-led UPA had registered a comprehensive victory in the centre, but Mayawati still remained the centre political figure in the state.
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2012 Assembly election: In a major setback, the BSP had to face a humiliating defeat in the 2012 assembly election against the arch rivals Samajwadi Party. The party could only manage to win 80 seats, 126 less than what it had won in the previous state elections.
2014 Lok Sabha polls: The situation worsened for the Mayawati-led party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when it could not win even a single seat. BJP, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, gained massive grounds in the state and all the other parties got limited in single digits.
2017 Assembly election: The saffron party repeated its magical performance in the 2017 assembly election as the BSP could only manage to win 19 seats. Mayawati ensured an introspection as the party faced back-to-back defeats in the assembly elections.
2019 Lok Sabha election: The BSP got a major boost in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when it managed to win 10 seats. While the party had contested the polls in alliance with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, it gained back its lost ground in several regions.
2022 Assembly election: However, the party got a reality check three years later after it contested the 2022 assembly election independently. The Mayawati-led party was reduced to just one seat, its lowest in decades.
2024 Lok Sabha election- The Mayawati-led party again decided to contest the polls independently and failed to win even a single seat. The alliance of Congress and Samajwadi Party surprised the ruling BJP by winning 44 of the 80 seats.
Reasons Behind BSP's Downfall
The party's stake in the state politics has significantly reduced in the past two decades. While it formed government on its own in 2007, the party could only win one seat in 2022. There are several reasons behind its downfall, including inactiveness of Mayawati in the recent years, corruption charges during its rule, leadership crisis, and rise of other Dalit rights forces, such as Chandrashekhar Azad.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election
The assembly election in Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to be conducted in the early months of 2027. The BSP has decided to contest the polls independently and is planning to regain its political ground by conducting door-to-door visits, especially in its strongholds.
Mayawati is also likely to make key promises and announce BSP list of candidates in the coming weeks. What remains positive for the BSP is despite a significant reduction in number of seats, its vote share has remained in the double digits, signaling continued support despite setbacks.