BSP fails to score in Hry, Maya pulls out of pact

After the dismal performance of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)- Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) alliance in the Haryana assembly election, BSP chief Mayawati has announced that her party will not form alliances with regional parties in the assembly or Lok Sabha election. BSP will also maintain a distance with the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc as well, she said.
In a series of posts on X on Friday, Mayawati said that in elections in other states, including UP, “the alliance party benefited from BSP’s votes, but the BSP could never benefit from the alliance partner. It is necessary to save the party cadre from disappointment due to not getting the expected election result.”
“In this context, keeping in mind the election results of Haryana legislative assembly and the bitter experience of Punjab elections before that, it was decided in the review meeting of Haryana and Punjab today that there will be no further alliance with regional parties, while the distance from BJP-led NDA and Congress-led India alliance will continue as before,” she said.
The BSP chief alleged, casteist efforts are being made to weaken BSP, due to which it is necessary to continue the process of self-preservation and become the ruling class as before, she said.
In the Haryana assembly election, the BSP failed to open its account while INLD won merely two seats. The INLD polled 4.14% vote while the BSP got 1.82% vote. Under the seat sharing formula the INLD has fielded candidates on 53 seats while the BSP has fielded candidates on 37 seats.
“The BSP and the INLD contested the Haryana assembly general election in alliance. But the result shows that the casteist people of the Jat community did not vote for the BSP due to which party candidates lost on some seats by a small margin of votes, although the BSP’s entire vote was transferred,” she said.
Earlier the BSP had contested the 2022 Punjab assembly election in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). While SAD won three seats in the 117-member House the BSP drew a blank.
BSP contested the 2023 assembly election in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh in alliance with Gondwana Gantantra Party. The alliance failed to get seats in both the states.
In the 2020, Bihar assembly election the BSP had launched Grand United Secular Front (GUSF) with stitching alliance with Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Samajwadi Janta Dal (SJD), Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Janvadi Party Socialist (JPS). BSP bagged one seat in the election. Again after the assembly election Mayawati announced the dissolution of GUSF.
The BSP contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. While the BSP bagged 10 seats, the SP secured victory on 5 seats. After the general election, the BSP walked out of the alliance alleging that the SP failed to transfer its vote.
The BSP went solo in the 2024 Lok Sabha but failed to open its account.
A political observer, S K Srivastava said, “BSP’s experiment to form alliances with regional parties in various states failed to get desired results. Be it the Lok Sabha election or the assembly election after fiasco in the election the BSP chief Mayawati walked out of the alliance.
“The BSP support base is shrinking and its poll percentage is declining in the successive assembly and Lok Sabha elections in UP and other states. BSP chief Mayawati is striving hard to protect her core support base of the party- Jatav community that is spread in UP and neighbouring states. To maintain grip over the community, she breaks the alliance after the poll, blaming the alliance partner for the dismal performance in the election,” he said.