The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means “people in majority”), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities. According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India’s population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj. Kanshi Ram named his protégée, Mayawati, as his successor in 2001. The BSP has its main base in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where it was the second-largest party in the 2019 Indian general election with 19.3% of votes and in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections with over 22% of votes. Its election symbol is an elephant.
Etymology
Bahujan is a Pali term frequently found in Buddhist texts, and literally refers to “the many”, or “the majority”. It appears in the dictum “Bahujana Hitaya Bahujana Sukhaya”, or “The benefit and prosperity of the many”, articulated by Gautama Buddha. In his writing, B. R. Ambedkar used the term to refer to the majority of people in Hindu society that experienced discrimination and oppression on the basis of caste. Jotirao Phule used the term in a similar context, and compared the Bahujans of India to slaves in the United States. Dalit and Bahujan writers have suggested this proportion was 75 percent of the population.
History
The Bahujan Samaj Party was founded on the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar, 14 April 1984, by Kanshi Ram, who named former school teacher, Mayawati, as his successor of BSP in 2001. The party’s power grew quickly with seats in the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. In 1993, following the assembly elections, Mayawati formed a coalition with Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister. On 2 June 1995, she withdrew support from his government, which led to a major incident where Yadav was accused of sending his zealots to keep her party legislators hostage at a Lucknow guest house and shout casteist abuses at her. Since this incident, they have regarded each other publicly as chief rivals. Mayawati then obtained support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become Chief Minister on 3 June 1995. In October 1995, the BJP withdrew their support and fresh elections were called after a period of President’s Rule. In 2003, Mayawati resigned from her own government to prove that she was not “hungry for power” and asked the BJP-run Government of India to remove Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan. In 2007, she began leading a BSP-formed government with an absolute majority for a full five-year term.
A Bahujan carrying the BSP flag.
Silver jubilee
Bahujan Samaj Party on 14 April 2009 celebrated its silver jubilee. Manywar Shri Kanshi Ramji Shahri Garib Awas Yojna, housing scheme for poor was launched by Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). Role of Mayawati was discussed in BSP’s success. Mass rally was organised in Lucknow with 10000 police personnel on duty. It was 305th and largest rally of BSP since 1984. As per Observer Research Foundation, within 25 years BSP became third largest political party of India.
Views
BSP believes in “Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation” of the “Bahujan Samaj”. The Bahujan Samaj signifies the Bahujans as the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), and the Other Backward Castes (OBC).B. R. Ambedkar, a proponent of Bahujan rights is their important ideological inspiration. Bsp also speaks in favor of religious minorities. The party claims not to be prejudiced against upper-caste Hindus. In 2008, while addressing the audience, Mayawati said: “Our policies and ideology are not against any particular caste or religion. If we were anti-upper caste, we would not have given tickets to candidates from upper castes to contest elections”.
List of Chief Ministers
Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh
Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from Bahujan Samaj Party, Mayawati
| No. | Name | Constituency | Term of office | Tenure length | Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mayawati | 3 June 1995 | 18 October 1995 | 137 days | twelfth Assembly (1993–95) (1993 election) |
|
| Mayawati | Harora | 21 March 1997 | 21 September 1997 | 184 days | Thirteenth Assembly (1996–2002) (1996 election) |
|
| Mayawati | Harora | 3 May 2002 | 29 August 2003 | 1 year, 118 days | Fourteenth Assembly (2002–07) (2002 election) |
|
| Mayawati | MLC | 13 May 2007 | 15 March 2012 | 4 years, 307 days | Fifteenth Assembly (2007–12) (2007 election) |
|
Electoral Performances
Success in 2007
The results of the May 2007 Uttar Pradesh state assembly election saw the BSP emerge as a sole majority party, the first to do so since 1991. Mayawati began her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and took her oath of office along with 50 ministers of cabinet and state rank on 13 May 2007, at Rajbhawan in the state capital of Lucknow. Most importantly, the majority achieved in large part was due to the party’s ability to take away majority of upper castes votes from their traditional party, the BJP.
Flags of “Bahujan Samaj Party” at Shivaji Park, Mumbai.
The party could manage only 80 seats in 2012 as against 206 in 2007 assembly elections. BSP government was the first in the history of Uttar Pradesh to complete its full five-year term. On 26 May 2018, Ram Achal Rajbhar was replaced by R S Kushwaha as the president of UP unit.
2014 Lok Sabha Elections
The 2014 national Lok Sabha elections saw the BSP become the third-largest national party of India in terms of vote percentage, having 4.2% of the vote across the country but gaining no seats.
2019 Lok Sabha Elections Mahagathbandhan
Prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BSP formed a Mahagathbandhan. The Mahagathbandhan (or Grand Alliance), or simply the Gathbandhan (Alliance), is an anti-Congress, anti-BJP Indian political alliance formed in the run-up to the 2019 general election under the leadership of two former Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party, along with Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal and several other political parties, contesting in different states of India.
The Mahagathbandhan won 15 seats out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 Indian General Election.
Election results
Lok Sabha (Lower House)
| Lok Sabha Term | Indian General Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
State (seats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Lok Sabha | 1989 | 245 | 4 | 2.07 | 4.53 | Punjab (1) Uttar Pradesh (3) |
| 10th Lok Sabha | 1991 | 231 | 3 | 1.61 | 3.64 | Madhya Pradesh (1) Punjab (1) Uttar Pradesh (1) |
| 11th Lok Sabha | 1996 | 210 | 11 | 4.02 | 11.21 | Madhya Pradesh (2) Punjab (3) Uttar Pradesh (6) |
| 12th Lok Sabha | 1998 | 251 | 5 | 4.67 | 9.84 | Haryana (1) Uttar Pradesh (4) |
| 13th Lok Sabha | 1999 | 225 | 14 | 4.16 | 9.97 | Uttar Pradesh (14) |
| 14th Lok Sabha | 2004 | 435 | 19 | 5.33 | 6.66 | Uttar Pradesh (19) |
| 15th Lok Sabha | 2009 | 500 | 21 | 6.17 | 6.56 | Madhya Pradesh (1) Uttar Pradesh (20) |
| 16th Lok Sabha | 2014 | 503 | 0 | 4.19 | 4.5 | NA |
| 17th Lok Sabha | 2019 | 383 | 10 | 3.67 | 5.1 | Uttar Pradesh (10) |
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Lower House)
| Vidhan Sabha Term | UP elections |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 1993 | 164 | 67 | 11.12 | 28.52 |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | 1996 | 296 | 67 | 19.64 | 27.73 |
| 14th Vidhan Sabha | 2002 | 401 | 98 | 23.06 | 23.19 |
| 15th Vidhan Sabha | 2007 | 403 | 206 | 30.43 | 30.43 |
| 16th Vidhan Sabha | 2012 | 403 | 80 | 25.95 | 25.95 |
| 17th Vidhan Sabha | 2017 | 403 | 19 | 22.24 | 22.24 |
Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Vidhan Sabha | 1990 | 183 | 2 | 3.54 | 5.89 |
| 10th Vidhan Sabha | 1993 | 286 | 2 | 7.05 | 7.86 |
| 11th Vidhan Sabha | 1998 | 170 | 11 | 6.15 | 11.39 |
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2003 | 157 | 2 | 7.26 | 10.62 |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | 2008 | 230 | 7 | 8.97 | 9.29 |
| 14th Vidhan Sabha | 2013 | 227 | 4 | 6.29 | 6.42 |
| 15th Vidhan Sabha | 2018 | 230 | 2 | 5.00 |
Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Rajasthan Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Vidhan Sabha | 1990 | 57 | 0 | 0.79 | 2.54 |
| 10th Vidhan Sabha | 1993 | 50 | 0 | 0.56 | 2.01 |
| 11th Vidhan Sabha | 1998 | 108 | 2 | 2.17 | 3.81 |
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2003 | 124 | 2 | 3.97 | 6.40 |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | 2008 | 199 | 6 | 7.60 | 7.66 |
| 14th Vidhan Sabha | 2013 | 199 | 3 | 3.37 | 3.48 |
| 15th Vidhan Sabha | 2018 | 199 | 6 | 4.00 |
Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | ChhattisgarhAssembly Election | Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Vidhan Sabha | 2003 | 54 | 2 | 4.45 | 6.94 |
| 3rd Vidhan Sabha | 2008 | 90 | 2 | 6.11 | 6.11 |
| 4th Vidhan Sabha | 2013 | 90 | 1 | 4.27 | 4.27 |
| 5th Vidhan Sabha | 2018 | 33 | 2 | 3.9 | 3.9 |
Bihar Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Bihar Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Vidhan Sabha | 1990 | 164 | 0 | 0.73 | 1.41 |
| 11th Vidhan Sabha | 1995 | 161 | 2 | 1.34 | 2.66 |
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2000 | 249 | 5 | 1.89 | 2.47 |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | Feb. 2005 | 238 | 2 | 4.41 | 4.50 |
| 14th Vidhan Sabha | Oct. 2005 | 212 | 4 | 4.17 | 4.75 |
| 15th Vidhan Sabha | 2010 | 243 | 0 | 3.21 | 3.27 |
| 16th Vidhan Sabha | 2015 | 228 | 0 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| 17th Vidhan Sabha | 2020 | 80 | 1 | 1.5 | 6.1 |
Delhi Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Delhi Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Vidhan Sabha | 1992 | 55 | 1 | 3.90 | 2.42 |
| 2nd Vidhan Sabha | 1998 | 58 | 0 | 3.15 | 3.63 |
| 3rd Vidhan Sabha | 2003 | 40 | 0 | 5.76 | 8.96 |
| 4th Vidhan Sabha | 2008 | 70 | 2 | 14.05 | 14.05 |
| 5th Vidhan Sabha | 2013 | 69 | 0 | 5.33 | 5.44 |
| 6th Vidhan Sabha | 2015 | 70 | 0 | 1.31 | 1.31 |
| 7th Vidhan Sabha | 2020 | 68 | 0 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
Haryana Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | HaryanaAssembly Election | Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Vidhan Sabha | 2000 | 83 | 1 | 5.74 | 6.22 |
| 11th Vidhan Sabha | 2005 | 84 | 1 | 3.22 | 3.44 |
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2009 | 86 | 1 | 6.73 | 7.05 |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | 2014 | 87 | 1 | 4.37 | 4.52 |
| 14th Vidhan Sabha | 2019 | 87 | 0 | 4.14 | 4.31 |
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th Vidhan Sabha | 1990 | 35 | 0 | 0.94 | 1.76 |
| 8th Vidhan Sabha | 1993 | 49 | 0 | 2.25 | 3.0 |
| 9th Vidhan Sabha | 1998 | 28 | 0 | 1.41 | 3.28 |
| 10th Vidhan Sabha | 2003 | 23 | 0 | 0.7 | 2.02 |
| 11th Vidhan Sabha | 2007 | 67 | 1 | 7.40 | 7.37 |
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2012 | 67 | 0 | 1.7 | 2.02 |
| 13th Vidhan Sabha | 2017 | 42 | 0 | 0.49 | 0.79 |
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9th Vidhan Sabha | 1996 | 29 | 4 | 6.43 | 15.07 |
| 10th Vidhan Sabha | 2002 | 33 | 1 | 4.50 | 7.86 |
| 11th Vidhan Sabha | 2008 | 83 | 0 | 3.73 | 3.73 |
| 12th Vidhan Sabha | 2014 | 50 | 0 | 1.41 | 2.07 |
Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
| Vidhan Sabha Term | Jharkhand Assembly Election |
Seats contested |
Seats won |
% of votes |
% of votes in seats contested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Vidhan Sabha | 2009 | 78 |