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“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality”: Desmond Tutu
There is an elephant here in Uttar Pradesh representing Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which has chosen to be neutral in this “do or die” electoral battle to uphold the Constitution and the values enshrined in it by Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
The BSP’s popular slogan claims “‘Baba Saheb ka mission adhura, BSP karegi pura’(Baba Saheb’s mission is incomplete, BSP will accomplish it)”.
However, on the ground in the four lists of Uttar Pradesh BSP candidates released so far there are 46 candidates strategically chosen for their potential to cut into the I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidates’ vote and subsequently better the prospect of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate.
Of these 46 candidates, more than 26 percent or 12 are Muslims contesting from the minority dominated seats of western UP such as Saharanpur, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Amroha, Aonla and Pilibhit as well as from Firozabad, Kannauj and Lucknow. Muslim votes are said to be decisive in around 29 Lok Sabha seats.
Similarly, the BSP has chosen several Brahmins where the ruling party had not fielded a Brahmin and the chances of their voting for the I.N.D.I.A. bloc was present.
During the 2022 Vidhan Sabha polls the BSP had similarly damaged the prospects of the SP led rainbow alliance by fielding 88 Muslim candidates and considerably splitting the Muslim votes much to the advantage of the BJP.
Mayawati, once described as the ‘Iron Lady of Indian politics’, has in recent years largely remained active only on social media. As a result her once strong cadre-based party has slowly been nibbled away by the BJP.
Besides a section of the Jatav votes, other sections of the once loyal Dalit vote have been won over by the saffron party.
In this context, it is important to underline what Congress leader Rahul Gandhi clearly spelt out as a challenge during the I.N.D.I.A. bloc joint press conference addressed by him and Samajwadi president Akhilesh Yadav in Ghaziabad on April 17, the last day of canvassing for the first phase of elections on April 19.
Rahul Gandhi had said, “This is an election of ideology. On one side are the RSS and BJP who are trying to finish the Constitution and the democratic set-up. On the other side is the I.N.D.I.A. bloc and Congress which are trying to defend and protect the Constitution and democracy”.
At this significant historic juncture before the nation BSP has chosen not to side with the I.N.D.I.A. bloc but plough a lonely furrow.
Despite contesting the maximum number of 503 seats in 2014, more than any other party, the BSP could not open its account. In 2019 due to its pre poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) Mayawati managed to win 10 Lok Sabha seats, while alliance partner SP did not gain a single seat from its 2014 tally of five.
Yet Mayawati played the victim card and unilaterally walked out of the alliance charging the SP and its workers of not transferring their vote!
It is interesting to see where the 10 BSP Lok Sabha MPs are today:
Bijnor MP Malook Nagar has joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal, an NDA alliance partner.
Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari is the Samajwadi party candidate from Ghazipur.
Jaunpur sitting MP Shyam Singh Yadav has been denied the ticket as he expressed his opinion in favour of I.N.D.I.A. bloc to oust BJP. Mayawati has chosen Srikala Reddy the wife of jailed mafia don turned politician Dhananjay Singh.
Lalganj (reserved) Sangeeta Azad has joined the BJP.
Nagina MP Girish Chandra Jatav is the only MP who has been repeated by Mayawati this time from her home district of Bulandshahr.
Amroha’s sitting MP Danish Ali was the target of BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s derogatory verbal attack inside the Lok Sabha. Mayawati subsequently disqualified Danish Ali for anti party activities as he had been paid a visit by Rahul Gandhi and had also vocally come out in support of TMC MP Mahua Moitra. Danish is now A Congress candidate from Amroha. BSP has fielded Dr Mujahid Hussain against Danish Ali.
Ambedkar Nagar MP Ritesh Pandey quit the BSP to join BJP and is now the BJP candidate from the same seat.
Ghosi MP Atul Rai who had remained behind bars for most of his 5-year term on charges of rape, fraud and Gangster Act has been denied a ticket. The BSP candidate here is Balkrishan who had quit Congress a few days ago.
Saharanpur MP Haji Fazrul Rahman has been denied the ticket which has gone to Majid Ali.
Shravasti MP Ram Shiromani Verma was thrown out of the party for indiscipline. He is contesting from the same constituency on a SP ticket this time.
Technically speaking Mayawati has just two Lok Sabha MPs owing allegiance to her: Haji Fazrul Rahman and Girish Chandra Jatav.
Similarly, the BSP has just one MLA in UP’s Vidhan Sabha of 404 members. He is MLA from Rasra in Ballia Uma Shankar Singh.
Once known for its strident attack on Brahmanical ideology as codified in the Manu Smriti and empowering Dalits and the most backward castes , over the years the BSP led by ‘Dalit ki Beti’ Mayawati has diluted the party’s core ideology.
This is reflected in the gradual mellow downing of the BSP slogans over the years. From ‘Tilak, tarazu aur talwar, inko maro joote char’ to the all inclusive slogan of 2007 ‘sarva samaj ke samman mein, Behenji maidan mein’ to the further watering down of the Dalit ascendency but revising the slogan ‘jiski jitni sankhya bhari, usiki utni hissedari’ to ‘jiski jitni bhagidari,uski utni hissedari’.
Incidentally, when she had become the Chief Minister of UP for the fourth time in 2007, Mayawati had launched an ambitious multi-crore multi-city project giving shape to a larger than life Dalit iconography by building majestic parks, gigantic statues, murals and museums across the state to document the contribution of Baba Saheb and a host of social reformers who had challenged the caste oppression from Gautam Buddha to herself.
But her commitment to challenge the status quo and uphold the Constitution and what it guarantees is not so clear at this decisive juncture.
Cover Photograph ANI
