BSP’s Long Road to Revival: Mayawati’s Push to Reclaim Lost Ground with Akash Anand at the Helm
By M Hasan
Lucknow, October 20 — After suffering a series of electoral setbacks over the past two decades, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) faces an uphill struggle to reclaim its lost political ground.
Once a formidable force under Mayawati, the party today finds itself grappling with declining vote shares, a fractured Dalit base, and the emergence of new rivals in the socio-political landscape of Uttar Pradesh.
Over the past ten days, BSP chief Mayawati has launched an intensive organizational overhaul aimed at rejuvenating the party’s national presence.
From the October 9 “Dalit Strength” rally at Kanshi Ram Smarak, to a regional leadership conference on October 16 featuring representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and other states, and culminating in a national convention of nearly 500 party leaders on October 19, the BSP supremo has been visibly active — both symbolically and strategically.
The Rise of Akash Anand: Mayawati’s Political Successor
One of the most striking outcomes of this ten-day exercise has been Mayawati’s decision to formally elevate her nephew Akash Anand as her political successor.
This move settles a decade-long speculation over the question of “Who after Mayawati?”
With Mayawati as the guiding figure, Akash Anand — alongside his father Anand Kumar and the party’s key Brahmin face Satish Chandra Mishra — is now positioned at the core of the BSP’s leadership structure.
During her recent address, Mayawati made a direct appeal to party coordinators, urging them to “support Akash Anand the same way you have supported me.”
This generational transition, however, comes at a time when the BSP’s organizational morale and electoral influence are at their weakest.
The central challenge before the party is not merely succession, but strategic revival — rebuilding its once-formidable Dalit-Brahmin-Muslim alliance and regaining the trust of marginalized communities that have drifted toward rival political formations.
From Kanshi Ram’s Vision to Fragmented Realities
The BSP’s journey from Kanshi Ram’s revolutionary social engineering to its current struggle for relevance has been dramatic.
Under Kanshi Ram’s mentorship, Mayawati rose from grassroots activism to become India’s first Dalit woman Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2007 — a feat achieved entirely on her party’s own strength.
At the peak of her political ascendancy, Mayawati was even projected as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Bureaucrats and strategists working in her Lucknow secretariat confidently predicted a sweep of 50 seats for “Behan Ji.”
The final tally, however, stood at 21 seats, which remains the BSP’s best-ever national performance.
Since then, the party’s fortunes have sharply declined. Kanshi Ram’s inclusive Dalit coalition — which once united Jatavs, Pasis, and other backward sub-castes — began to unravel during the 2007–2012 BSP regime, when perceptions of favoritism toward the Jatav community alienated other groups.
The once-loyal Pasis became particularly disenchanted, giving rise to the bitter slogan: “Kanshi Ram ki kamai, Mayawati ne gawai” — Kanshi Ram’s gains, squandered by Mayawati.
Electoral Slide: A Two-Decade Decline
The numbers tell a sobering story.
- 2009 Lok Sabha: 6.2% national vote share (21 seats)
- 2014: 4.2% (no seat)
- 2019: 3.7% (10 seats in alliance with SP)
- 2024: 2.04% (no seat)
In Uttar Pradesh — the BSP’s home turf — the 2024 elections were particularly disappointing.
Despite contesting all 80 seats independently, the party secured only 9.24% of the vote, while the BJP and SP dominated with 41.37% and 33.59%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (ASP) made a decisive entry into Dalit politics, winning the Nagina Lok Sabha seat.
His campaign — invoking the slogan “Kanshi Ram ji ke sapne” — directly challenged Mayawati’s claim to the Dalit legacy. In her October 9 speech,
Mayawati launched a sharp counterattack against Chandrashekhar, signaling her recognition of the threat he poses to BSP’s traditional base.
The BSP’s absence from the 18th Lok Sabha thus starkly contrasts with Chandrashekhar’s parliamentary debut — a symbolic generational shift in Dalit politics.
Eroding Alliances and Changing Equations
The party that once engineered the winning formula of “Sarvajan Samaj” — uniting Dalits, Brahmins, and Muslims — now faces an identity crisis.
The Brahmin-Muslim outreach model that powered Mayawati’s 2007 victory appears obsolete in today’s polarized environment.
At the recent national conference, the three chairs beside Mayawati — occupied by Satish Chandra Mishra, Anand Kumar, and Akash Anand — made it evident that the BSP currently lacks a strong Muslim face.
In the past, leaders like Nasimuddin Siddiqui played a crucial role in mobilizing Muslim voters, but after his departure to the Congress, that bridge has collapsed.
Moreover, the Muslim electorate, now seeking security and representation, has gravitated toward the Samajwadi Party, narrowing the BSP’s appeal among minority voters.
The Road Ahead: A Battle for Survival
If the BSP hopes to remain politically relevant, it must rebuild a broad-based coalition of Dalits, Backward, and Muslims. However, with internal divisions among Dalit sub-castes and waning credibility among minorities, this will be an arduous task.
To regain power in Uttar Pradesh, a party needs at least 30% of the vote share — a steep climb from BSP’s current 9–12% base. This means dislodging the Samajwadi Party from its second-place position before it can challenge the ruling BJP.
It is precisely for this reason that Mayawati’s recent attacks have been more aggressive against the SP than the BJP — an attempt to reclaim the opposition space that once belonged to her.
Yet, without ideological clarity, strong grassroots mobilization, and new leadership appeal, the BSP’s dream of revival remains uncertain.
The coming years will test whether Akash Anand can re-energize the cadre and reconnect the party with its founding mission — the empowerment of the Bahujan community.
(M Hasan is a Former Chief of Bureau, Hindustan Times, Lucknow)
#BSPRevival #Mayawati #AkashAnand #DalitPolitics #UttarPradesh #PoliticalTransition #KanshiRamLegacy #BSP2024 #IndianPolitics #LucknowUpdates #CasteAndPolitics #SocialJustice #BahujanMovement #MHasanWrites
