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The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) secured 19 seats in the recent local body elections in Rajasthan, which is a decline from its previous tally of 24 seats. This occurred despite a substantial increase in the total number of seats up for grabs this time. A loss of five seats does not constitute a significant development in national politics by itself, and Rajasthan has never been a key stronghold for the BSP. However, when these 19 seats are viewed in conjunction with the party’s performance trajectory in Uttar Pradesh over the last two decades, this modest figure hints at a much larger political story.

During the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, the party won 206 out of 403 seats garnering 30.43% of the popular vote. The 2012 elections resulted in a decline to 80 seats with approximately 26% of the vote share. By 2017, the figure had further diminished to 19 seats. The 2022 elections witnessed a dramatic contraction, reducing the party’s representation to a single seat alongside a vote share of 12.88%. In Lok Sabha elections, the party’s performance displayed considerable volatility: it held 20 seats in 2009, declined to zero in 2014, recovered to 10 seats in 2019 through a strategic alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP), and subsequently returned to zero seats in 2024, with the vote share falling to 9.39%. The situation has now become even more concerning.

Umashankar Singh, the BSP’s only Member of the Legislative Assembly in UP – who had served the Rasra constituency in Ballia for three terms – passed away in August 2026. The party now lacks any representation in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly. In the Rajya Sabha, the party has only one MP, Ramji Gautam, whose term concludes in November 2026.

The BSP will have no representative in either House of Parliament afterwards. This will mark the first time since 1989 that the BSP is completely absent from Parliament.

What precisely transpired? Did Mayawati’s strategy prove ineffective? Did the organisation weaken? Did the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) successfully penetrate the Dalit voter base? Was the secondary tier of leadership systematically dismantled? All of these factors hold considerable significance. However, beneath these explanations may lie a more profound narrative – the rise and fall of the BSP represents not merely a political episode, but also a broader account of the power of identity politics and its limitations in India.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati holds a strategy meeting at party headquarters, in Lucknow, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Photo: PTI.

The umbrella concept of Bahujan

Kanshi Ram’s greatest achievement was not merely founding the BSP or elevating Mayawati to the position of chief minister. His real political marvel lay in forging a comprehensive political identity that encompassed dozens of distinct caste-based identities without erasing them. This political identity was ‘Bahujan’. From BAMCEF to DS-4, and finally the BSP in 1984, Kanshi Ram’s fundamental message remained remarkably consistent: if a population segment constitutes such a substantial proportion of society, why does their representation in government remain disproportionately minuscule?

If Dalits, the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), non-Yadav OBCs, and other marginalised communities remained fragmented along caste lines, they would continue to serve merely as vote banks for other political alliances. However, if they consolidated their numerical strength and formed a unified political community, the keys to power could fall into their hands. Kanshi Ram transformed a fragmented social arithmetic into a potent political algebra. Yet, the inherent weakness of the experiment existed within it.

The term ‘Bahujan’ was not itself a caste. The Rajbhar remained Rajbhar. The Nishad remained Nishad. The Kurmi remained Kurmi. The Mauryas, Kushwahas, Shakyas, Sainis, Prajapatis, Pasis, and Valmikis – each possessed their own distinct history, their own social standing, their own leaders, and their own aspirations. Kanshi Ram did not eliminate these identities. Rather, he constructed a broad........

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