The
Bahujan Samaj Party (
BSP) is a
centristIn politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
national political party in
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans (literally meaning "People in majority"), referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes (OBC) as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of
B. R. AmbedkarBhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...
. The BSP was founded by the high-profile, charismatic leader
Kanshi RamKanshi Ram was an Indian politician. He founded the Bahujan Samaj Party , a political party with the stated goal of serving the traditionally lower castes of Indian society . He transferred the BSP's leadership to Mayawati...
in 1984, who was succeeded by
MayawatiMayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
in 2003. The party's political symbol is an
ElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
. In the
15th Lok SabhaMembers of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...
the party has 21 members, making it the 4th-largest party. The BSP has its main base in the Indian state of
Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
The Origin of word "Bahujan"
The
HindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
word Bahujan was first time defined by
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n revolutionary Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil in his historical novel
Bolshevikon Ki Kartoot in the year 1920 when even its founder
Kanshi RamKanshi Ram was an Indian politician. He founded the Bahujan Samaj Party , a political party with the stated goal of serving the traditionally lower castes of Indian society . He transferred the BSP's leadership to Mayawati...
was not born. The main character of this novel is Masha - an
YahudiYahudi is a 1958 Bollywood film directed by Bimal Roy. It starred Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Sohrab Modi, Nasir Hussain, Nigar Sultana and others....
girl who fought against
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n System. The BSP has historically drawn a loyal base of voters from India's lowest caste (
DalitDalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
). It has attempted to grow nationally as well, but has met limited success so far. Its current majority government in Uttar pradesh was in large part due to a reach-out towards other castes even some members of the upper castes.
History
The party was founded in 1984 by
Kanshi RamKanshi Ram was an Indian politician. He founded the Bahujan Samaj Party , a political party with the stated goal of serving the traditionally lower castes of Indian society . He transferred the BSP's leadership to Mayawati...
. Due to his deteriorating health in the 1990s, former school teacher
MayawatiMayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
became the party's de facto leader. The party's power grew quickly with seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and India's Lower House of Parliament. In 1993, following the assembly elections, Mayawati formed a coalition with Samajwadi Party President
Mulayam Singh YadavMulayam Singh Yadav in Hindi मुलायम सिंह यादव is an Indian politician and has influence mainly in Uttar Pradesh state of India...
as Chief Minister. In mid-1995, she withdrew support to his government, which led to a major incident where Mulayam Singh Yadav was accused of keeping her party legislator's hostage to try and break her party. Since this, they have regarded each other publicly as chief rivals. Mayawati then sought the support of the BJP to become Chief Minister on June 3rd, 1995. In October 1995 the BJP withdrew support to her and fresh elections were called after President's Rule.
After the 1997 elections, no party achieved a majority. The BSP tied up with the BJP again, with an arrangement to rotate the Chief Minister's post every six months. After Mayawati's first rotation, she withdrew support to the BJP shortly into her successor's (Kalyan Singh) term. the BSP legislatie party split and kept a BJP government in power for the next four-and-a-half years.
After assembly elections in 2002, the BSP tied up once again with the BJP, but this time, with Mayawati in charge as the Chief Minister throughout. In August 2003, this coalition fell as the BJP withdrew support. In what was viewed as a collaboration between the BJP and SP, the BJP assembly speaker (
Lalji TandonLalji Tandon is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party , known as a protegee of Atal Behari Vajpayee....
) recognized the split of the BSP legislative party, which allowed Mulayam Singh Yadav to become Chief Minister with rebel support.
In the interim, Mayawati began to make intense outreach to other castes, particularly Brahmins, who were traditionally wary of her. Many sitting MLA's from other parties defected to the BSP prior to the 2007 assembly elections.
Success in 2007 UP assembly elections
The May 11, 2007,
the Uttar Pradesh state assembly electionThe Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections, 2007 were held in April–May 2007 to elect a government for the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.-Organisation of the election:...
results saw the BSP emerge as a single majority party, the first to do so since since 1991. The BSP President Ms. Mayawati began her fourth term as Chief Minister of UP and took her oath of office along with 50 ministers of cabinet and state rank on May 13, 2007, at Rajbhawan in the state capital of
LucknowLucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
. Most importantly, the majority achieved in large part was due to the party's ability to take away majority voters from their traditional party, the BJP.
BSP is now the third largest national party of India having more than 10% vote share across the country.
Controversies
The BSP has recently been embroiled in controversy due to its leader,
MayawatiMayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
's penchant for erecting her own statues along with her political mentor
Kanshi RamKanshi Ram was an Indian politician. He founded the Bahujan Samaj Party , a political party with the stated goal of serving the traditionally lower castes of Indian society . He transferred the BSP's leadership to Mayawati...
,and B.R. Ambedkar throughout the state of
Uttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
mainly
LucknowLucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
which is the capital and
NoidaNoida , short for the New Okhla Industrial Development Area, is an area in India under the management of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority . Noida came into administrative existence on 17 April 1976 and celebrates 17 April as "Noida Day". It was set up as part of an urbanization...
/
Greater NoidaGreater Noida is located in the Gautam Budh Nagar district of the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . It is under the purview of the National Capital Region of India...
which is her home town. The party has also been criticised for its continuously shifting political alliances.
Secret Successor of Mayawati
On 9th Aug 2003, Mayawati declared that she had chosen a successor from the 'chamar' community and is 18–20 years her junior. She has penned down his name in a sealed packet left in the safe custody of two of her close confidantes. The name of the successor will be disclosed on her death.
Lok Sabha (Lower House) Performance
| Lok Sabha Term |
Indian
General Election |
Seats
Contested |
Seats
won |
% of
Votes |
% of Votes in
seats contested |
State ( seats ) |
| 09 th Lok Sabha |
1989 |
245 |
03 |
2.07 |
..... |
Punjab ( 01 )
Uttar Pradesh ( 02 ) |
| 10 th Lok Sabha |
1991 |
231 |
02 |
1.80 |
3.64 |
Madhya Pradesh ( 01 )
Uttar Pradesh ( 01 ) |
| 11 th Lok Sabha |
1996 |
210 |
11 |
4.02 |
11.21 |
Madhya Pradesh ( 02 )
Punjab ( 03 )
Uttar Pradesh ( 06 ) |
| 12 th Lok Sabha |
1998 |
251 |
05 |
4.67 |
9.84 |
Haryana ( 01 )
Uttar Pradesh ( 04 ) |
| 13 th Lok Sabha |
1999 |
225 |
14 |
4.16 |
9.97 |
Uttar Pradesh ( 14 ) |
| 14 th Lok Sabha |
2004 |
435 |
19 |
5.33 |
6.66 |
Uttar Pradesh ( 19 ) |
| 15 th Lok Sabha |
2009 |
500 |
21 |
6.17 |
..... |
Madhya Pradesh ( 01 )
Uttar Pradesh ( 20 ) |
Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Performance
| Vidhan Sabha Term |
Uttar Pradesh
General Election |
Seats
Contested |
Seats
won |
% of
Votes |
% of Votes in
seats contested |
| 10 th Vidhan Sabha |
1989 |
372 |
13 |
9.41 |
10.72 |
| 11 th Vidhan Sabha |
1991 |
386 |
12 |
9.44 |
10.26 |
| 12 th Vidhan Sabha |
1993 |
164 |
67 |
11.12 |
28.52 |
| 13 th Vidhan Sabha |
1996 |
296 |
67 |
19.64 |
27.73 |
| 14 th Vidhan Sabha |
2002 |
401 |
98 |
23.06 |
23.19 |
| 15 th Vidhan Sabha |
2007 |
403 |
206 |
30.43 |
30.43 |
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