Mayawati is preparing the Dalit pitch with the ‘reservation’ move, will SC’s decision be a turning point for BSP?

Jatav voters are considered to be the core vote bank of BSP, but after the Supreme Court’s decision, if there is a classification of SC reservation, then along with Jatav, Pasi, Khatik and Dhobi community will also come under its grip. Obviously, the court’s decision has increased Mayawati’s troubles, so these days she is busy making new political strategies.

Qubool Ahmed

BSP founder Kanshiram awakened such political consciousness among the Dalit community that Mayawati came to power in UP four times. In the eighties, Kanshiram awakened such political consciousness among the Dalits standing at the lowest rung of the society that he brought them to the center of political strategy. Mayawati’s one-man rule continued for a long time on the strength of Dalit votes, but after being out of power, BSP’s political ground is continuously shrinking. In such a situation, the Supreme Court’s decision to classify SC-ST reservation has given an issue to BSP, on which Mayawati is trying to win the trust of the Dalit community again.

The Supreme Court has given the states the right to make sub-categories in the reservation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Justice BR Gavai also stressed on implementing creamy layer in SC-ST reservation. Mayawati has openly come out in protest against this decision of the Supreme Court. Mayawati said that the division of reservation is unfair and unconstitutional. Along with asking the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision, she appealed to the people of SC and ST category to protect their constitutional rights. She told the Dalit community to understand the emergency situation and unite and put pressure on all political parties to force them to make constitutional amendments.

Engaged in making quota in quota a political issue

Mayawati has started making the decision to make quota in quota of SC-ST reservation a political issue. By raising the issue of reservation, BSP is preparing to strengthen the organization across the state. BSP has made a strategy that through Gram Sabhas, the party will make people aware about the issue of reservation. For this, special guidelines have also been issued to the party leaders from district to village level. BSP is trying to establish the issue of reservation among the voters of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category in an effective manner. Rather than telling the political loss to the Dalit community due to the SC-ST reservation decision, the strategy is to term it as a conspiracy to end the reservation.

BSP chief Mayawati’s nephew Akash Anand has started making Dalit reservation a political issue. He said that when BJP and Congress show Lal Kitab and say that we have come to save the Constitution, but these people are working to snatch your rights from you. Akash Anand said in Gohna, Haryana that friends, on one side there is BJP, whose target is the movement of Manvendra Kanshiram Saheb, on the other side there is Congress, which has always hated Baba Saheb. Both the parties run with casteist mentality. These people have been trying to twist the reservation and the Constitution in various ways for their own benefit. In this way, he is trying to win the trust of the Dalit community and become their well-wisher.

BSP once made an impact in UP politics

In the 80s, Kanshi Ram formed the Bahujan Samaj Party for the Dalit community to participate in governance and power. While raising the slogan of social justice, Kanshi Ram had said that ‘the more the participation, the more the share in power’. In this way, Kanshi Ram first formed DS-4, then BAMCEF for the rights of the Dalit community and in 1984, formed the Bahujan Samaj Party to give political rights to Dalits, OBCs and minorities. BSP left a distinct mark in the politics of Uttar Pradesh, with the help of which Mayawati became the Chief Minister four times.

Kanshi Ram continued to do the politics of Bahujan Samaj, with which Mayawati added Sarvajan. The result of this was that in the year 2007, Mayawati formed the government in UP with full majority, but after this the process of weakening of BSP started. After Mayawati was out of power in Uttar Pradesh in 2012, the performance of the party has never been better. With the dwindling support base in UP and the battle over the Dalit vote bank, the challenge for BSP has increased. Mayawati is going through the most difficult phase.

Jatavs also started splitting from BSP

The Dalit voter in Uttar Pradesh is 21 percent and the vote share of BSP in 2019 fell from 19.43 percent to 9.39 percent. This shows that non-Jatav voters had already distanced themselves from it, Jatav voters have also scattered from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 60 percent of the Jatav caste voters still remained with BSP, but SP-Congress were successful in taking 30 percent of their votes. Only 10 percent of the votes went to BJP. Similarly, there has been a split in the Pasi vote as well.

The Supreme Court’s decision has opened the way for the division of the 21 percent reservation given to the Dalit community in UP. Politically, Dalits in UP are divided between Jatavs and non-Jatavs. During the Rajnath government, there was talk of dividing the 21 percent Dalit reservation in UP into 10 percent and 11 percent, but due to the strong BSP at that time, it could not be implemented. The Jatav community has benefited the most from the reservation given to the Scheduled Castes in UP, followed by Dhobi, Pasi and other castes, but Dalit castes like Kori, Kol, Valmiki did not get the same reservation as the Jatavs.

Mayawati has now started trying to unite the Pasi, Dhobi and Khatik community while maintaining the trust of the Jatav community by giving a political edge to the Supreme Court’s decision, this is being considered a big political move. Once again, the BSP chief seems to be turning towards the Bahujan Samaj. The issue of reservation seems to be becoming a big issue for her.

Preparation to make reservation an issue in UP

Mayawati has made a plan to make reservation a big issue in Uttar Pradesh. The strategy is to create a political atmosphere at the ground level regarding the decision of quota within quota i.e. sub-classification. BSP people will now be seen going from village to village trying to make SC-ST people understand that BJP and Congress are plotting to end Dalit reservation. In this way, Mayawati is worried about saving her disintegrating vote bank. For this, party workers have been instructed to organize Chaupals in every village. People from Dalit and tribal society will be invited in this. The way Akash Anand has opened a front in Haryana, it is clear that BSP has a plan to regain its lost political base.

Courtesy: Hindi News