The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will kickstart its election campaign through its Prabudh Varg Sammelan (enlightened class convention) from July 31. The event will continue till August 14.
The 15-day event will cover 14 districts, and the party’s general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra will oversee it.
From July 31 to August 1, the programme will take place in Agra. On August 2, it will move to Kasganj, Firozabad and Etah. August 3 is for Aligarh and Hathras, while Shahjahanpur and Bareilly will play hosts on August 4. Sitapur and Lakhmimpir Kheri (August 5); Badaun and Moradabad (August 7), Bijnore and Muzaffarnagar (August 8); Amroha and Sambhal (August 9), Meerut, Baghpat and Ghaziabad (August 10); Saharanpur and Shamli (August 11); Bulandshehr (August 13) and Noida (August 14) will be covered by the reachout.
For a party which once had its slogan of choice in ‘Tilak, tarazu aur talwar; inko maaro jute chaar’ (Roughly translated to 'Hit those wearing the red vermillion on the forehead —Brahmins—, those who balance the scales—the trading class—, and those wielding the shield—Rajputs, with shoes four times), the turn to the ‘enlightened classes’ seems to be the only chance left to make a significant mark in upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.
The party’s initial plan was to have Brahmin sammelans. The change in nomenclature is indicative of the party’s strategy to attract to its fold members of other upper castes as well, while holding on to its core Chamar vote base.
The BSP won only 19 seats in the 403 member Vidhan Sabha in the 2017 elections. This after rising steadily since 1993 when it allied with the Samajwadi Party (SP). After that alliance gave way, in 1995, 1997 and 2002 the BSP formed governments with the BJP.
There is an undeniable anger among the upper castes against the ruling BJP. In anticipation that the voters will shift to other parties, the BSP wants to be the first to get a large pie of their votes.
The party is unlikely to win a majority, but by cornering a large chunk of the Brahmin votes, especially if the BJP fares poorer than the last assembly elections, the BSP will be back in the reckoning to play a crucial role in government formation.
This is Mayawati’s last shot at political relevance, and she needs it through a former party slogan: Bahujan ka saath, Bahujan ka vikas (Everybody together, everybody progress together). It is a slightly modified version of the BJP's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.
