The Bahujan Samaj Party (abbr. BSP) is a 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.[4] 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.[5][6] The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, and Gautama Buddha.
Bahujan Samaj Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | BSP |
| President | Mayawati[1] |
| General Secretary |
|
| Rajya Sabha Leader | Ramji Gautam |
| Founder | Kanshi Ram |
| Founded | 14 April 1984 |
| Preceded by | Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti |
| Headquarters | 12, Gurudwara Rakabganj Road, New Delhi, India-110001 |
| Newspaper | Bahujan Samaj Bulletin |
| Ideology | Ambedkarism[3] Self-Respect[3] |
| Colours | Blue |
| ECI Status | National Party |
| Alliance | BSP+SAD (2022–2023) BSP+GGP (2023–) BSP+INLD (2023–) |
| Seats in Lok Sabha | 8 / 543 |
| Seats in Rajya Sabha | 1 / 245 |
| Seats in State Legislative Assembly | 3 / 4,036 List |
| Seats in State Legislative Council | 0 / 426 |
| Number of states and union territories in government | 0 / 31 |
| Election symbol | |
 | |
| Website | |
| www | |
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[7] and fourth largest in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election with 12.88% of votes.[8] Its election symbol is an elephant which is the same symbol historically used by Dr. Ambedkar's Scheduled Castes Federation.[9]
Etymology
"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, Other Backward Classes, Muslims, and minorities who together constitute the demographic majority of India.[10][11] The word "Bahujan" appears in the dictum "Bahujana Hitaya Bahujana Sukhaya", or "The benefit and prosperity of the many", articulated by Gautama Buddha.[12][13][14]
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.[14][15]
History
Bahujan Samaj Party was founded on the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar (14 April 1984) by Kanshi Ram,[16] who named former school teacher, Mayawati, as his successor of BSP in 2001.[17] 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 Mulayam Singh Yadav was accused of sending his zealots to keep her party legislators hostage at a Lucknow guest house and shout casteist abuses at her.[18] Since this incident, they have regarded each other publicly as chief rivals.[19] 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"[20] and asked the BJP-run Government of India to remove Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan.[21] In 2007, she began leading a BSP-formed government with an absolute majority for a full five-year term.[22]
On 10 Dec 2023, Mayawati declared her nephew Akash Anand as party's successor.[23][24][25]
Silver jubilee
On 14 April 2009, the Bahujan Samaj Party celebrated its silver jubilee.[26] The Manywar Shri Kanshi Ramji Shahri Garib Awas Yojna housing scheme for poor was launched by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).[27] The role of Mayawati was discussed in BSP's success.[28] A mass rally was organised in Lucknow with 10000 police personnel on duty.[29] It was the 305th and largest rally of BSP since 1984.[30] As per Observer Research Foundation, within 25 years BSP became third largest political party of India.[31]
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".[32]
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.[33] 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.[34]
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.[35] On 26 May 2018, Ram Achal Rajbhar was replaced by R S Kushwaha as the president of UP unit.[36]
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.[37]
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),[38][39] is an anti-Congress,[40] anti-BJP[41] 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.[42][43][44][45][46][47]
The Mahagathbandhan won 15 seats out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 Indian General Election.[48]
Election results
Lok Sabha
| Lok Sabha Term | Year | Seats contested | Seats won | +/- Seats | vote% | +/- vote% | State (seats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th | 1989 | 245 | 4 / 543 |  4 | 2.07% | - | Punjab(1) UP(3)[49] |
| 10th | 1991 | 231 | 3 / 543 |  1 | 1.61% | 0.46% | MP (1) Punjab (1) UP (1)[50] |
| 11th | 1996 | 210 | 11 / 543 | 8 | 4.02% | 2.41% | MP (2) Punjab (3) UP(6) |
| 12th | 1998 | 251 | 5 / 543 | 6 | 4.67% | 0.65% | Haryana(1) UP(4) |
| 13th | 1999 | 225 | 14 / 543 | 9 | 4.16% | 0.49% | UP(14) |
| 14th | 2004 | 435 | 19 / 543 | 5 | 5.33% | 1.17% | UP(19) |
| 15th | 2009 | 500 | 21 / 543 | 2 | 6.17% | 0.84% | MP(1) UP(20) |
| 16th | 2014 | 503 | 0 / 543 | 21 | 4.19% | 1.98% | — |
| 17th | 2019 | 383 | 10 / 543 | 10 | 3.67% | 0.52% | UP(10) |
Legislative Assembly Elections
| Year | Seats contested | Seats won | +/- | Voteshare (%) | +/-(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bihar Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1990 | 164 | 0 / 324 |  | 0.73% | |
| 1995 | 161 | 2 / 324 | 2 | 1.34% | |
| 2000 | 249 | 5 / 324 | 3 | 1.89% | |
| Feb 2005 | 238 | 2 / 243 | 3 | 4.41% | |
| Oct 2005 | 212 | 4 / 243 | 2 | 4.17% | |
| 2010 | 243 | 0 / 243 | 4 | 3.21% | |
| 2015 | 228 | 0 / 243 | | 2.1% | |
| 2020 | 80 | 1 / 243 | 1 | 1.5% | |
| Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 2003 | 54 | 2 / 90 | 2 | 4.45% | |
| 2008 | 90 | 2 / 90 | | 6.11% | |
| 2013 | 90 | 1 / 90 | 1 | 4.27% | |
| 2018 | 33 | 2 / 90 | 1 | 3.9% | |
| 2023 | 58 | 0 / 90 | 0 | 2.05% | |
| Delhi Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1993 | 55 | 1 / 70 | 1 | 3.90% | |
| 1998 | 58 | 0 / 70 | 1 | 3.15% | |
| 2003 | 40 | 0 / 70 | | 5.76% | |
| 2008 | 70 | 2 / 70 | 2 | 14.05% | |
| 2013 | 69 | 0 / 70 | 2 | 5.33% | |
| 2015 | 70 | 0 / 70 | | 1.31% | |
| 2020 | 68 | 0 / 70 | | 0.71% | |
| Haryana Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 2000 | 83 | 1 / 90 | 1 | 5.74% | |
| 2005 | 84 | 1 / 90 | | 3.22% | |
| 2009 | 86 | 1 / 90 | | 6.73% | |
| 2014 | 87 | 1 / 90 | | 4.4% | |
| 2019 | 87 | 0 / 90 | 1 | 4.21% | |
| Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1990 | 35 | 0 / 68 | | 0.94% | |
| 1993 | 49 | 0 / 68 | | 2.25% | |
| 1998 | 28 | 0 / 68 | | 1.41% | |
| 2003 | 23 | 0 / 68 | | 0.7% | |
| 2007 | 67 | 1 / 68 | 1 | 7.40% | |
| 2012 | 67 | 0 / 68 | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 2017 | 42 | 0 / 68 | | 0.49% | |
| 2022 | 53 | 0 / 68 | | 0.35% | |
| Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1996 | 29 | 4 / 87 | 4 | 6.43% | |
| 2002 | 33 | 1 / 87 | 3 | 4.50% | |
| 2008 | 83 | 0 / 87 | 1 | 3.73% | |
| 2014 | 50 | 0 / 87 | | 1.41% | |
| Jharkhand Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 2009 | 78 | 0 / 81 | | 2.44% | |
| 2014 | 61 | 1 / 81 | | 1.8% | |
| 2019 | 67 | 0 / 81 | | 2.5% | |
| Karnataka Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 2018 | 18 | 1 / 234 | 1 | 0.30% | |
| 2023 | 133 | 0 / 234 | 1 | 0.31% | |
| 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 | 2 | 3.54% | - |
| 1993 | 286 | 11 / 320 | 9 | 7.05% | 3.51% |
| 1998 | 170 | 11 / 320 | | 6.15% | 0.9% |
| 2003 | 157 | 2 / 230 | 9 | 7.26% | 1.11% |
| 2008 | 228 | 7 / 230 | 5 | 8.97% | 1.71% |
| 2013 | 227 | 4 / 230 | 3 | 6.29% | 2.68% |
| 2018 | 227 | 2 / 230 | 2 | 5.01% | 1.28% |
| 2023 | 181 | 0 / 230 | 2 | 3.40% | 1.61% |
| 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 | 0 | | 2.33% | |
| 2019 | 262 | 0 | | 0.92% | |
| Punjab Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1992 | 105 | 9 | 9 | 16.32% | |
| 1997 | 67 | 1 | 8 | 7.48% | |
| 2002 | 100 | 0 | 1 | 5.69% | |
| 2007 | 115 | 0 | | 4.13% | |
| 2012 | 117 | 0 | | 4.29% | |
| 2017 | 111 | 0 | | 1.52% | |
| 2022 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 1.77% | |
| Rajasthan Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1990 | 57 | 0 / 200 | | 0.79% | |
| 1993 | 50 | 0 / 200 | | 0.56% | |
| 1998 | 108 | 2 / 200 | 2 | 2.17% | |
| 2003 | 124 | 2 / 200 | | 3.97% | |
| 2008 | 199 | 6 / 200 | 4 | 7.60% | |
| 2013 | 199 | 3 / 200 | 3 | 3.37% | |
| 2018 | 199 | 6 / 200 | 3 | 4.03% | |
| 2023[51] | 199 | 2 / 200 | 4 | 1.82% | |
| Telangana Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 2018 | 106 | 0 / 117 | 2 | 2.10% | |
| 2023 | 106 | 0 / 117 | | 1.37% | |
| Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 2002 | 68 | 7 / 70 | 7 | 10.93% | - |
| 2007 | 70 | 8 / 70 | 1 | 11.76% | 0.83% |
| 2012 | 70 | 3 / 70 | 5 | 12.19% | 0.43% |
| 2017 | 0 / 70 | 3 | 6.98% | 5.21% | |
| 2022 | 54 | 2 / 70 | 2 | 4.82% | 1.16% |
| Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly | |||||
| 1989 | 372 | 13 / 425 | 13 | 9.41% | - |
| 1991 | 386 | 12 / 425 | 1 | 9.44% | 0.03% |
| 1993 | 164 | 67 / 425 | 55 | 11.12% | 1.68% |
| 1996 | 299 | 67 / 425 | | 19.64% | 8.52% |
| 2002 | 401 | 98 / 403 | 31 | 23.06% | 3.42% |
| 2007 | 403 | 206 / 403 | 108 | 30.43% | 7.37% |
| 2012 | 403 | 80 / 403 | 126 | 25.91% | 4.48% |
| 2017 | 403 | 19 / 403 | 61 | 22.23% | 3.71% |
| 2022 | 403 | 1 / 403 | 18 | 12.88% | 9.43% |
Gallery
BSP Leaders at Bahujan Samaj Prerna Kendra
BSP Leaders at Bahujan Samaj Prerna Kendra
BSP cadre camp
BSP cadre camp
BSP cadre camp
BSP cadre camp
BSP cadre camp
See also
Further reading
- Chandra, Kanchan. 2004. Why Ethnic Parties Succeed. Cambridge University Press.
References
External links
