Vote share shrinking, but BSP may play spoilsport in Doaba

Once considered a Dalit movement in Punjab, the Bahujan Samaj Party may prove to be a spoiler for at least three seats — Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur. The mainstream political parties are keenly observing people’s response for the BSP candidates in these three constituencies

Even as the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) base is continuously shrinking in Punjab, the party, once considered a Dalit movement in Punjab, may prove to be a spoiler for at least three seats — Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur.

Such was the clout of the BSP in Punjab till late 1990s that in the 1992 assembly polls, boycotted by Akalis, the BSP won nine seats with highest-ever vote share (16.32%) and its leader Satnam Kainth became the leader of Opposition in the state assembly.

The mainstream political parties are keenly observing people’s response for the BSP candidates in these three constituencies which have been Dalit hotbed, especially the Ravidassia community that dominates politics in the Doaba region.

Notably, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, both reserved for scheduled castes, cover the Doaba region whereas the Anandpur Sahib seat covers Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district of Dalit-hotbed Doaba, whose three assembly seats — Banga, Nawanshahr and Balachaur — have remained strong vote catcher for the BSP, traditionally.

In the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat, BSP’s Balwinder Singh is contesting his second consecutive election. In 2019, he had surprised everyone by bagging over two lakh votes. All eyes are on this Congress-dominated seat as the grand old party has fielded former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi from here.

It is a five-cornered contest in Jalandhar. If Balwinder gets strong response, it may upset equations of the big faces. The BJP has fielded sitting AAP MP Sushil Rinku whereas former two-time Akali MLA Pawan Tinu is Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidate. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has fielded former Congress veteran Mohinder Singh Kaypee from this seat. Except Channi, all candidates belong to Ravidassia community.

Similarly in Hoshiarpur, the seat which the BSP founder Kanshi Ram had wrested in 1996, the party still has a few strong pockets in form of Phagwara, Sham Chaurasi and Chabbewal. The BSP has bagged over one lakh votes in the past three Lok Sabha polls. In 2019, BSP candidate Khushi Ram took 1.28 lakh votes and was one of the reasons behind the defeat of Congress candidate Raj Kumar Chabbewal as the BSP ate into Dalit votes which traditionally go to the Congress.

In Anandpur Sahib as well, the BSP has a strong presence even as it covers four assembly constituencies of Doaba region — Garhshankar, Nawanshahr, Banga and Balachaur. The BSP has a sitting MLA (Dr Nachhatar Pal) in Nawanshahr assembly. In Banga assembly segment, the party earned more than 20,000 votes in past three assembly polls, barring the one in 2022 when the party was in alliance with the SAD.

More importantly, the Lok Sabha seat also covers the Ropar assembly constituency, the home turf of Dalit icon and BSP founder Kanshi Ram. From this seat, BSP’s state president Jasvir Singh Garhi is in the fray. Garhi belongs to the Balachaur segment and is among the few BSP leaders who enjoy respect.

Such was the clout of the BSP in Punjab till late 1990s that in the 1992 assembly polls, boycotted by Akalis, the BSP had won nine seats with highest-ever vote share (16.32%) and its leader Satnam Kainth became the leader of Opposition in the state assembly.

In 1997, when the BSP won only one seat (Garhshankar), the party’s vote share dipped to 7.48%. In the 2002 assembly polls, the party stood second on four seats of Doaba.

In the 2022 assembly polls, the BSP forged an alliance with the SAD and contested 20 seats whereas the SAD contested 97 seats. But this time, the BSP snapped ties with the Akalis when the latter was cosying up to the BJP for an alliance.

Professor GC Koul, a Dalit scholar from Jalandhar, opine that BSP’s plight is because of it largely losing the trust of Dalits. “There was a time when the BSP used to be a movement in the country with the party at the forefront in raising Dalit issues. Somehow, people have started feeling that Mayawati’s self interests are supreme for the BSP rather that party’s interest,” said Koul, who retired as the head of the Punjabi department in DAV College, Jalandhar.