Growing rebellion in BSP may upset Mayawati‘s applecart

Lucknow: Breaking away from the parent organisation before the election is not uncommon. Nor is forming of a new party on the eve of the poll unprecedented. But the players in these games have been mostly middle order politicians. This is the not the case with the Bahujan Samaj Party . Those who have deserted are senior members. It is mainly for this reason that it deserves consideration.

Take for instance the case of R K chaudhary. He was a close associate of the founder of the Dalit Shoshit Sangharsh Samiti or, what is popularly known as, DS-Four, and the Bahujan Samaj Party , late Kanshi Ram. The two organisations were formed way back ti 1981 and 1984, respectively. It clearly establishes that he had a close association with the party for a long time.

And he is not the only senior party leader who has said a good-bye. He has followed another leader , Swami Prasad Maurya, who had resigned from the party sometime back. The curtain is not down yet. Some more are waiting in the wings who may join these two or go separately. The party chief Mayawati’s cup of woe, therefore, is not full yet.

Babu Singh Kushwaha is another party man who has expressed his willingness to join these old colleagues. Old timers recall that he was forced to resign from the party for certain misdeeds . He too is a nursing a grudge against her and may join hands with them to cause a set-back to the party. The fight is likely to be tough in the coming state election as the BJP and the SP, two main rivals, have worked hard to come out with a better showing. In a close contest the winner is decided by a narrow margin. Loss of hundred votes can upset the party’s applecart.

The party has already faced a rout in the previous Lok Sabha election. Therefore, it has to gain the lost ground. In addition, it has to expand its base. Presently, the party is mainly depending on Brahmin, Dalit and Muslim votes. It will need support of some other castes to get back to its old position.

Mayawati, is putting up a brave face and dismissing fear that it will adversely affect the party prospects in the coming assembly election in the state. Her optimism may be based on some old instances. Shankarsinh Vaghela who was closely associated with saffron brigade for long left the BJP to become chief minister of Gujarat in 1996-97 with support from the Congress.

He could not keep the parent organization away from power for long. In 1998 the BJP was back to power. What is more, he lost his Lok Sabha election to the BJP candidate in 2009 as well as in 2014. Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh who had resigned from the BJP could not cause much damage to the party either . HeLeav

Leaving it in December 1999, he returned to the fold five years later. Now he is the constitutional head of a state.

She may be hoping in this light that either the party deserters will not cause much worries to her or they will come back to the organization soon. But the position in her party is different from that of BJP. it is a different ball game for the simple reason that senior leaders of the BJP had not gone along with them . Secondly, the former BSP leaders have found supporters in their old party. Some of them have already expressed displeasure with her “style “ of functioning and may join the deserters later on.

A common complaint is that she behaves like a dictator and give a damn to advice or suggestion by party members, small or big. Similarly, there is common a charge that more than the party ideology or principle she cares for money. The party is a “Real Estate” for her . Distribution of party ticket for election is a “ source “ of her income. These charges may not be true but it is a fact that she has faced a disproportionate income case. It offers a grist to the rumour mill of her detractors whose number is growing by the day.