The Fall of an Elephant: A Case Study of Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The result of the 2022 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh offers important lessons for Indian electoral politics. This election saw the defeat of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a party called ‘the Elephant’ that claims to represent about 20% of state’s population including Dalits. In this background, this article attempts to explain how the BSP’s transition from a ‘Bahujan’ party to a ‘Sarvajan Party’ and neglect for Dalit issues led to its defeat in the Vidhan Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh in 2022. It also shows that the BSP’s ‘Sarvajan Politics’ model could not sustain its success indefinitely. The shift in the BSP’s voting percentage in Uttar Pradesh suggests that a ‘atomized Party’ with a charismatic leader may struggle to remain viable if it falls short of the expectations of its main voter base. The fundamental question here is whether the social justice goal is still relevant in a state like Uttar Pradesh.