Bahujan Samaj Party

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities.[5] According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India's population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes.[6][7] The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj.

Bahujan Samaj Party
AbbreviationBSP
PresidentMayawati[1]
General Secretary
Lok Sabha LeaderKunwar Danish Ali
Rajya Sabha LeaderRamji Gautam
FounderKanshi Ram
Founded14 April 1984 (1984-04-14)
Preceded byDSSSS or DS4
Headquarters12, Gurudwara Rakabganj Road, New Delhi, India-110001
IdeologySocial equality[3]
Social justice[4]
Colours  Blue
ECI StatusNational Party
AllianceBSP+
Seats in Lok Sabha
9 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
1 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assembly
7 / 4,036
List
2 / 70
(Uttarakhand)
2 / 90
(Chhattisgarh)
1 / 117
(Punjab)
1 / 230
(Madhya Pradesh)
1 / 403
(Uttar Pradesh )
Seats in State Legislative Council
1 / 426
List
1 / 100
(Uttar Pradesh)
Number of states and union territories in government
0 / 31
Election symbol
Website
www.bspindia.co.in

Kanshi Ram named his protégée, Mayawati, as his successor in 2001. The BSP has its main base in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where it was the second-largest party in the 2019 Indian general election with 19.3% of votes[8] and third-largest in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election with 12.88% of votes.[9] Its election symbol is an elephant which is the same symbol historically used by Dr. Ambedkar's Scheduled Castes Federation.[10]

Etymology

BSP Cadre Camp, Faizabad

"Bahujan" is a Sanskritic term found in Hindu and Buddhist texts, and literally refers to "many people", or "the majority". It connotes the combined population of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled tribes, Other Backward Classes, Muslims, and minorities who together constitute the demographic majority of India.[11][12] The word "Bahujan" appears in the dictum "Bahujana Hitaya Bahujana Sukhaya", or "The benefit and prosperity of the many", articulated by Gautama Buddha.[13][14][15]

In his writing, Dr.B. R. Ambedkar used the term to refer to the majority of people in society that experienced discrimination and oppression on the basis of caste. Jyotirao Phule used the term in a similar context, and compared the Bahujans of India to Slavery in the United States.Schedule Caste and Bahujan writers have suggested this proportion was 70 percent of the population.[15][16]

History

Kanshi Ram, founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party

Bahujan Samaj Party was founded on the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar (14 April 1984) by Kanshi Ram,[17] who named former school teacher, Mayawati, as his successor of BSP in 2001.[18] The party's power grew quickly with seats in the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. In 1993, following the assembly elections, Mayawati formed a coalition with Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister. On 2 June 1995, she withdrew support from his government, which led to a major incident where Yadav was accused of sending his zealots to keep her party legislators hostage at a Lucknow guest house and shout casteist abuses at her.[19] Since this incident, they have regarded each other publicly as chief rivals.[20] Mayawati then obtained support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become Chief Minister on 3 June 1995. In October 1995, the BJP withdrew their support and fresh elections were called after a period of President's Rule. In 2003, Mayawati resigned from her own government to prove that she was not "hungry for power"[21] and asked the BJP-run Government of India to remove Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan.[22] In 2007, she began leading a BSP-formed government with an absolute majority for a full five-year term.[23]

Silver jubilee

The Bahujan Samaj Party on 14 April 2009 celebrated its silver jubilee.[24] The Manywar Shri Kanshi Ramji Shahri Garib Awas Yojna housing scheme for poor was launched by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).[25] The role of Mayawati was discussed in BSP's success.[26] A mass rally was organised in Lucknow with 10000 police personnel on duty.[27] It was the 305th and largest rally of BSP since 1984.[28] As per Observer Research Foundation, within 25 years BSP became third largest political party of India.[29]

Views

BSP believes in "Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation" of the "Bahujan Samaj". The Bahujan Samaj signifies the Bahujans as the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), and the Other Backward Castes (OBC). B. R. Ambedkar, a proponent of Bahujan rights, is their important ideological inspiration. The BSP also speaks in favor of religious minorities. The party claims not to be prejudiced against upper-caste Hindus. In 2008, while addressing the audience, Mayawati said: "Our policies and ideology are not against any particular caste or religion. If we were anti-upper caste, we would not have given tickets to candidates from upper castes to contest elections".[30]

List of chief ministers

Chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh

No Image Name Constituency Term of office Tenure length Assembly
1 Mayawati None 3 June 1995 18 October 1995 137 days 12th Assembly
(1993 election)
Harora 21 March 1997 21 September 1997 184 days 13th Assembly
(1996 election)
3 May 2002 29 August 2003 1 year, 118 days 14th Assembly
(2002 election)
MLC 13 May 2007 15 March 2012 4 years, 307 days 15th Assembly
(2007 election)

Electoral performances

Success in 2007

The results of the May 2007 Uttar Pradesh state assembly election saw the BSP emerge as a sole majority party, the first to do so since 1991. Mayawati began her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and took her oath of office along with 50 ministers of cabinet and state rank on 13 May 2007, at Rajbhawan in the state capital of Lucknow.[31] Most importantly, the majority achieved in large part was due to the party's ability to take away majority of upper castes votes from their traditional party, the BJP.[32]

Flags of "Bahujan Samaj Party" at Shivaji Park, Mumbai.

The party could manage only 80 seats in 2012, as opposed to 206 in 2007 assembly elections. BSP government was the first in the history of Uttar Pradesh to complete its full five-year term.[33] On 26 May 2018, Ram Achal Rajbhar was replaced by R S Kushwaha as the president of UP unit.[34]

2014 Lok Sabha Elections

The 2014 national Lok Sabha elections saw the BSP become the third-largest national party of India in terms of vote percentage, having 4.2% of the vote across the country but gaining no seats.[35]

2019 Lok Sabha Elections Mahagathbandhan

Prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BSP formed a Mahagathbandhan. The Mahagathbandhan (or Grand Alliance), or simply the Gathbandhan (Alliance),[36][37] is an anti-Congress,[38] anti-BJP[39] Indian political alliance formed in the run-up to the 2019 general election under the leadership of two former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party, along with Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal and several other political parties, contesting in different states of India.[40][41][42][43][44][45]

The Mahagathbandhan won 15 seats out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 Indian General Election.[46]

Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha Term Year Seats
contested
Seats won +/- Seats vote% +/- vote% State (seats)
9th 1989 245
4 / 543
Increase 4 2.07% Punjab(1)
UP(3)[47]
10th 1991 231
3 / 543
Decrease 1 1.61% MP (1)
Punjab (1)
UP (1)[48]
11th 1996 210
11 / 543
Increase 8 4.02% MP (2)
Punjab (3)
UP(6)
12th 1998 251
5 / 543
Decrease 6 4.67% Haryana(1)
UP(4)
13th 1999 225
14 / 543
Increase 9 4.16% UP(14)
14th 2004 435
19 / 543
Increase 5 5.33% UP(19)
15th 2009 500
21 / 543
Increase 2 6.17% MP(1)
UP(20)
16th 2014 503
0 / 543
Decrease 21 4.19%
17th 2019 383
10 / 543
Increase 10 3.67% UP(10)

Legislative Assembly Elections

Year Seats contested Seats won +/- Voteshare (%) +/-(%)
Bihar Legislative Assembly
1990 164
0 / 324
Steady 0.73
1995 161
2 / 324
Increase2 1.34
2000 249
5 / 324
Increase3 1.89
Feb 2005 238
2 / 243
Decrease3 4.41
Oct 2005 212
4 / 243
Increase2 4.17
2010 243
0 / 243
Decrease4 3.21
2015 228
0 / 243
Steady 2.1
2020 80
1 / 243
Increase1 1.5
Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
2003 54
2 / 90
Increase2 4.45
2008 90
2 / 90
Steady 6.11
2013 90
1 / 90
Decrease1 4.27
2018 33
2 / 90
Increase1 3.9
2023
0 / 90
Delhi Legislative Assembly
1993 55
1 / 70
Increase1 3.90
1998 58
0 / 70
Decrease1 3.15
2003 40
0 / 70
Steady 5.76
2008 70
2 / 70
Increase2 14.05
2013 69
0 / 70
Decrease2 5.33
2015 70
0 / 70
Steady 1.31
2020 68
0 / 70
Steady 0.71
Haryana Legislative Assembly
2000 83
1 / 90
Increase1 5.74
2005 84
1 / 90
Steady 3.22
2009 86
1 / 90
Steady 6.73
2014 87
1 / 90
Steady
2019 87
0 / 90
Decrease1
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
1990 35
0 / 68
Steady 0.94
1993 49
0 / 68
Steady 2.25
1998 28
0 / 68
Steady 1.41
2003 23
0 / 68
Steady 0.7
2007 67
1 / 68
Increase1 7.40
2012 67
0 / 68
Decrease1 1.7
2017 42
0 / 68
Steady 0.49
2022 53
0 / 68
Steady 0.35
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
1996 29
4 / 87
Increase4 6.43
2002 33
1 / 87
Decrease3 4.50
2008 83
0 / 87
Decrease1 3.73
2014 50
0 / 87
Steady 1.41
Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
2009 78
0 / 81
Steady 2.44
2014 61
0 / 81
Steady 1.8
2019 67
0 / 81
Steady 2.5
Karnataka Legislative Assembly
2018 18
1 / 234
0.30%
2023 133
0 / 234
Decrease1
Kerala Legislative Assembly
2011 122
0 / 140
0.60
2016 74
0 / 140
0.24
2021 72
0 / 140
0.23
Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
1990 183
2 / 320
Increase2 3.54% Increase3.54%
1993 286
11 / 320
Increase9 7.05% Increase3.51%
1998 170
11 / 320
Steady 6.15% Decrease0.9%
2003 157
2 / 230
7.26%
2008 228
7 / 230
Increase5 8.97% Increase1.71%
2013 227
4 / 230
Decrease3 6.29% Decrease2.68%
2018 227
2 / 230
Decrease2 5.01% Decrease1.28%
2018
0 / 230
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
1990 122 0 0.42
1995 145 0 1.49
1999 83 0 0.39
2004 272 0 4.0
2009 287 0 2.35
2014 280 2.33
2019 262 0 0.92
Punjab Legislative Assembly
1992 105 9 16.32
1997 67 1 7.48
2002 100 0 5.69
2007 115 0 4.13
2012 117 0 4.29
2017 111 0 1.52
2022 20 1
Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
1990 57
0 / 200
Steady 0.79
1993 50
0 / 200
Steady 0.56
1998 108
2 / 200
Increase2 2.17
2003 124
2 / 200
Steady 3.97
2008 199
6 / 200
Increase4 7.60
2013 199
3 / 200
Decrease3 3.37
2018 199
6 / 200
Increase3
2023 TBD
0 / 200
Telangana Legislative Assembly
2018
0 / 117
Decrease2 2.10
Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
2002
7 / 70
  10.93
2007
8 / 70
Increase1 11.76
2012
3 / 70
Decrease5 12.19
2017
0 / 70
Decrease3 6.98
2022
2 / 70
Increase2 4.82
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
1989 372
13 / 425
Increase13 9.41% Increase9.41

%

1991 386
12 / 425
Decrease1 9.44% Increase0.03%
1993 164
67 / 425
Increase67 11.12% Increase1.68%
1996 299
67 / 425
Steady 19.64% Increase8.52%
2002 401
98 / 403
Increase31 23.06% Increase3.42%
2007 403
206 / 403
Increase108 30.43% Increase7.37%
2012 403
80 / 403
Decrease126 25.91% Decrease4.48%
2017 403
19 / 403
Decrease61 22.23% Decrease3.71%
2022 403
1 / 403
Decrease18 12.88% Decrease9.43%


See also

Further reading

References

  1. livemint (26 May 2018). "Mayawati says she will remain BSP president for next 20 years". livemint.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  2. "BSP appoints Munquad Ali as UP party chief, Danish Ali removed as leader in LS". India Today. 7 August 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  3. "BSP stands for social equality". Deccan Herald. 11 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. "Cong damaged cause of social justice: Mayawati". Hindustan Times. 10 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  5. "Bahujan Samaj Party". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  6. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst. ISBN 9781850653981. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  7. "The Contradictory Bahujan of the BSP – Countercurrents". Countercurrents. 28 April 2017. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. "Indian politics has undergone a tremendous change. Uttar Pradesh results the proof". The Economic Times. 26 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  9. Bureau, Zee Media (10 March 2022). "UP Election Results: Landslide victory for BJP, SP distant 2nd; Congress, BSP decimated". Zee News. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. Mishra, Anant Shekhar (20 April 2014). "A tale of election symbols". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  11. "What is Bahujan, Mandal, and Kamandal Politics in India?". The Justice Mirror. 22 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  12. Chishti, Seema (27 January 2022). "The substance of the U.P. elections". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  13. Gurusamy, S. (2013). Dalit Empowerment in India. MJP Publisher. p. 98. GGKEY:SW8XELLJGLC. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  14. Madan, Gurmukh Ram (1999). Buddhism: Its Various Manifestations. Mittal Publications. p. 47. ISBN 978-81-7099-728-3.
  15. Roy, Indrajit (2015). "Transformative politics: The imaginary of the Mulnibasi in West Bengal". In Chandra, Uday; Heierstad, Geir; Nielsen, Kenneth Bo (eds.). The Politics of Caste in West Bengal. Routledge. pp. 169–192. ISBN 978-1-317-41477-3.
  16. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Columbia University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-231-12786-8. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  17. Singh, Pitam (2003). Women legislators in Indian politics. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. p. 101. ISBN 8180690199. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  18. Pradhan, Sharat (15 December 2001). "Kanshi Ram declares Mayawati as his successor". Rediff News. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  19. "Report indicting Mulayam Singh Yadav comes handy for BJP". India Today. 15 August 1996. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  20. Ghildiyal, Subodh. not-stand-Mulayam/articleshow/1387716.cms "Why Mayawati cannot stand Mulayam". {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  21. "Uttar Pradesh chief quits". BBC News. 26 August 2003. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  22. "Mayawati offers to resign". The Times of India. 25 August 2003. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  23. "Mayawati rules Uttar Pradesh". India Today. 21 May 2007. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  24. Mathew, Liz (14 April 2009). "BSP celebrates silver jubilee with golden hopes". Live Mint. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  25. Shah, Pankaj (6 March 2010). "LDA ready with its gift for BSP silver jubilee". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  26. Singh, Pallavi (18 November 2009). "25 years on, what's next for Mayawati?". Live Mint. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  27. "BSP supporters congregate in Lucknow to celebrate party's 25 years". Sify. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  28. "Lucknow braces for mega BSP rally today". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  29. Misra, Satish. "BSP's 25-year Journey: What Next?". ORF. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  30. "BSP is not anti-upper caste: Mayawati". Hindustan Times. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  31. "Mayawati takes oath as UP CM". NDTV. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  32. "Upper castes played crucial role in bsp victory in up assembly elections". Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  33. "Election Commission of India". Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  34. "Mayawati effects major reshuffle in BSP, RS Kushwaha appointed state president in UP". 26 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  35. "BSP gets third-largest vote share, but no seat". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  36. 'SP-BSP-RLD thagbandhan won't cross double digits' Archived 19 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Hindu (14 April 2019)
  37. P, Shilpa (11 April 2019). "We can become kingmakers: BSP chief Mayawati eggs on party workers". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  38. "BSP will play a role in 'balance of power' at Centre: Mayawati". The Hindu. 10 April 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  39. "Mayawati should be PM, says Pawan Kalyan after poll pact with BSP. She nods". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  40. "Will Be Very Happy, Says Akhilesh Yadav on Mayawati As PM Candidate". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  41. "Akhilesh hints at supporting Maya as PM". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  42. "PDA to project Mayawati as next PM, says Khaira". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 23 January 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  43. "Mayawati would make an excellent PM, says Ajit Jogi". Hindustan Times. 22 October 2018. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  44. "Akhilesh tweets alliance 'logo' made by supporter". The Indian Express. 20 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  45. SP-BSP Gathbandhan: How effective is the alliance?, 12 April 2019, archived from the original on 18 April 2023, retrieved 13 April 2019
  46. Anshuman, Kumar (23 May 2019). "Mahagathbandhan in UP losing five seats because of Congress, one because of Shivpal". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  47. "Members : Lok Sabha". IIS Windows Server. 2 May 2016. Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  48. "Members : Lok Sabha". IIS Windows Server (in Javanese). 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  49. "Back to basics, Mayawati to hold cadre camp in Delhi". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  50. "Journey of a Dalit Party: Why is the BSP Not Able to Extend beyond (...) - Mainstream Weekly". mainstreamweekly.net. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  51. "Kanshi Ram worked for the Republican Party of India for eight years". The Quint. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  52. "SAMATA PARTY – Official Website". Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  53. "Stop Touching My Feet, BSP Chief Mayawati Tells Party Workers". News18. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.