BSP focuses on making UP three-cornered contest

New Delhi: The Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) main focus is on micro-management and the party is concentrating on the 100-odd Assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh where, as per internal surveys, the party is doing well. Sources privy to the poll preparations of the BSP confirmed to The Sunday Guardian that the party leadership’s main aim is to win as many seats as possible among these strongholds and for that Mayawati is holding constant meetings at the party headquarters in Lucknow to get day-to-day progress report from the Assembly in-charges and party leaders from these Assembly segments.
One senior party functionary said, ‘ Media is artificially making it a bi-polar contest. On the ground, it is a three-way battle, our vote base is intact with us. But, we know that we have to focus on our strong Assembly segments. Our emphasis is on 100-120 Assembly seats which had always been our stronghold since 1996. Out of these 100-odd Assembly seats even in 2017 Assembly polls we came second on 65 seats. As per the media we are out from the contest, but go to remote areas of Western and Central UP, we are very much here. Our ticket selection is done tactically to bring many communities together with the party. Our leader is taking daily feedback from the ground workers who are working in these areas. Our campaign had always been muted and silent. Even in 2007 when we won a decisive mandate, our campaign was silent and tactical.” In these elections, the BSP is also trying to revive its old social combination that helped the party to emerge victorious in the 2007 Assembly polls. Party’s general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Satish Chnadra Mishra who is also considered the party’s second-in-command, has been constantly trying to bring Brahmins in its fold. The BSP had given more than 15 percent tickets to the Brahmins.
Experts believe that even now, the BSP had a reasonable voter support in the state and the idea of Samajwadi Party (SP)-led alliance emerging as the only challenger to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not entirely correct. Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Ajit Kumar Jha, a noted political commentator who had covered the state widely said, “Yes, the BSP is still very relevant in Uttar Pradesh politics. It is highly likely to make the UP Assembly polls multi-cornered (three-cornered), especially in those areas, such as in Agra and southern districts of Paschimabad, where the first phase of polling took place on 10 February. Similarly, in Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, the BSP has massive support in some areas. In those areas for minority voters, who vote strategically to defeat the BJP, the only choice is BSP since the Yadav voters are numerically insignificant.”
On the issue of muted and silent campaign Jha added, “Through its silent campaign, the BSP connects extremely well with its Dalits, especially Jatav voters. It has done so for several elections effectively. The BSP voters do not trust the mainstream media which underestimates it in each election. Moreover, BSP via its tried and tested formula of greater representation to Muslims, Brahmins and even some MBC voters end up securing a minimum band of voters which is usually above 20 percent of the total votes polled. In 2017, the BSP percentage vote at 22 per cent was slightly more than the SP although the BSP got less seats than the SP.” The ruling BJP feels that there is no competition on the ground and the BSP will not do well. Dinesh Dubey, a senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leader based in Lucknow, said, “Mayawati talked about Sarvajan Sukhay and Sarvjan Hitay, but in reality BJP had done it. We have worked for the downtrodden sections, be it Dalits or backward sections in our rule. The BSP will find it difficult to even cross the double digit mark in the polls.”