Kanshiram’s political legacy: Scramble for Dalit votes in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: With the BSP having been reduced almost to a fringe player in Uttar Pradesh electoral politics, a mad scramble for Dalit votes has started among the other major political players, all of whom claiming to be the true heir to Dalit leader and BSP founder Kanshiram’s political legacy, in the state ahead of next year’s assembly polls.

While the BSP claims to be the ‘messiah’ of the Dalits, Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and BJP have been vying with each other to project themselves as the ones who really care for the community.

Kanshiram, it appears, has suddenly emerged as the central figure in the ongoing tussle for Dalit votes among the three parties with each trying to outdo the other in organising programs and events to honor the Dalit leader.

Former Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who recently addressed a party event, heaped praise on Kanshiram and even demanded that the latter be conferred with ‘Bharat Ratna’.

Not wanting to lag behind, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav invoked Kanshiram as part of his PDA (pichda, dalit, alpsankhyak) outreach highlighting warm and friendly relations between SP sounder Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kanshiram.

The party also celebrated Kanshiram’s birth anniversary on March 15 by holding meetings of the dalit community at all district headquarters.

BJP has also been making attempts to woo the dalits by organizing a series of outreach programs being attended by senior state party leaders. The saffron party has been trying to showcase what it claims schemes launched by its governments at the centre and in the state for the welfare of the community.

A wary Mayawati, however, termed the efforts to claim Kanshiram’s political legacy as ‘opportunistic politics’ ahead of the assembly polls. ‘’All these parties are trying to weaken the BSP which was founded by Kanshiram, by using such tactics….BSP workers should be alert to such tactics,’’ she said.

BSP has been struggling to stay politically relevant in the state after losing power in 2012 assembly polls. Its strength in the state assembly has been declining ever since. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BSP failed to open its account in UP while in the 2022 assembly polls it could win only one seat.