Is Mayawati's BSP A Deciding Factor In 2023 Rajasthan Polls? (Image: X @Mayawati)
Though the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly election is mainly between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP, other parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also have a crucial role. The BSP, headed by Mayawati, has assigned candidates in all major constituencies in Rajasthan. In December, it will be revealed whether the BSP will be the kingmaker or spoiler in the Rajasthan politics.
In the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly polls, the BSP contested 190 of the 200 seats. BSP won six assembly seats at that time and registered a vote share of 4 percent. The six seats won by the BSP in 2018 were Udaipurwati, Nadbai, Karauli, Nagar, Tijara, and Kishangarh Bas. BSP”s vote share was higher than the victory margin in 32 assembly seats in the state, and it affected the prospects of Congress and the BJP. Notably, of these 32 assembly seats, the BJP won 11 and the Congress won 18.
At the same time, the Congress was short of a majority by just one seat. In this situation, the BSP came to the rescue and helped Congress secure the majority to form a government in Rajasthan. “We don”t agree with the ideology of the Congress. But we will support it to keep the BJP out of power,” said Mayawati on that occasion. Unfortunately, all six legislators of the BSP in Rajasthan joined the Congress in 2019. With this, the Congress raised its strength to 106 in the 200-member house.
In July, Mayawati stated that the BSP would take a call on joining governments after the assembly elections. BSP also announced earlier that they would fight alone in the Rajasthan assembly polls. Mayawati”s nephew and BSP”s national coordinator, Akash Anand, conducted a “Sankalp Yatra” in Rajasthan in August. With this initiative, the BSP aimed to fix its position as a third political force in Rajasthan.
BSP is mainly dependent on the traditional support base of Dalit, tribal, and Other Backward Class (OBC) voters. The BSP has the capacity to become a “spoiler” by splitting votes that could have gone to either the BJP or the Congress. Mayawati clearly knows that the BSP will not be able to win in most of the constituencies where the party is contesting. However, Mayawati is sure that BSP can make an impact on the final results.
