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Bhim Army eyes BSP voter base
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar’s announcement about launching a political party is likely to trigger a competition with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for Dalit votes
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar’s announcement about launching a political party is likely to trigger a competition with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for Dalit votes in Uttar Pradesh, as well in the neighbouring states in which the Bhim Army is working to expand its support base, according to a political observer.
In a tweet on Friday, Chandrashekhar said the main aim of establishing a new political party was to unite the Dalits.
He also sought to appropriate the BSP’s old slogan ‘jiski jit ni sankhya bhari uski utni hisseydari (share of political power among various communities will be according to their numbers).
The Bhim Army will fulfil the vision of Dalit icons by establishing Dalit rule in the country, he said.
But it will be a gigantic task for the Bhim Army to displace the BSP as it was yet to create a committed cadre base across the state, said RK Gautam, the political observer.
Countering Chandrashekhar’s allegation that two BSP MPs skipped voting on the citizenship law in the Rajya Sabha to help the BJP, Mayawati in a tweet on Friday said, the BSP MPs voted against this legislation in the upper house of parliament.
In the meeting of the state unit leaders on December 8, Mayawati had directed them to start preparing for the 2022 UP assembly election as well as local bodies’ poll. She also directed the party leaders to caution the party supporters that some outfits were trying to divide the Dalits on the direction of the Congress and the BJP.
Earlier, Mayawati had said fringe organisations were more interested in serving the interest of their leaders than working for the scheduled castes.
They project themselves as champions of the Dalit cause to create confusion in the community, she had said.
She had also said the ruling BJP was tacitly supporting the Bhim Army in west UP to weaken the BSP’s hold on the Dalits.
Meanwhile, the Bhim Army is planning to cash in on the rumblings in the BSP after successive defeats in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.
Several senior Dalit leaders have already left the BSP or have been expelled by the Mayawati on the charge of indulging in anti-party activities.
In this backdrop, Chandrashekhar has called on Dalits, who are were ready to commit their life to struggle, to join the new political party to be launched by him. The new party will field candidates in the local bodies’ election as well as the 2022 UP assembly polls, he said.
A Bhim Army leader said the party planned to organise a rally in Lucknow where the name of the new political party will be announced.
The party headquarters will be located in Lucknow and it will promote the ideals of BSP founder Kanshi Ram among the people, he said.
After becoming BSP chief, Mayawati had dumped party founder Kanshi Ram’s ideology and converted the party into a family company by appointing her brother Anand as its national vice- president and nephew Akash as the national coordinator, the Bhim Army leader said.
The leaders who had worked hard to expand the BSP had been expelled, he said.
The Bhim Army will also work to win the support of the Muslim and backward communities.
Already, a front of five smaller political parties has invited the Bhim Army to join them.
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), Rashtra Uday Party (RUP), Janta Kranti Party (JKP) and Rashtria Upekshit Samaj Party (RUSP) formed the Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha recently.
A political observer RK Gautam said despite electoral reverses, the BSP still polled 19% to 21% vote in successive elections, clearly showing that Mayawati enjoyed the support of Dalits, particularly the Jatavs the sub-caste that she belongs to.
Chandrashekhar was also a Jatav leader and his popularity was increasing after the Bhim Army’s agitation against demolition of Ravidas temple in Delhi, the political observer said.
But it remained to be seen if he found favour with the community as Mayawati’s magic had not waned yet, Gautam said.
Dalits constitute about 24% of the state’s population and the BJP won them over in the in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2017 assembly polls.
The BSP is a cadre-based party with its organisation present from village level to the state capital in UP as well as in over one dozen states. The BSP polled around 4% to 5% vote in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka assembly elections.
