BSP on the Brink of Zero MPs, Yet Mayawati’s Core Strength Remains Intact

Once a formidable “third force” in Indian politics, standing firmly between the Congress and the BJP, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today finds itself in the most challenging phase of its political journey. After drawing its strength from Dalit assertion and the political landscape of Uttar Pradesh, the BSP failed to win a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and is now on the verge of being completely absent from Parliament for the first time in its history.

The party’s only remaining Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam, will see his term end in November 2026. With no Lok Sabha presence and no certainty of retaining a Rajya Sabha seat thereafter, the BSP faces the prospect of total parliamentary marginalisation—an extraordinary fall for a party that once shaped coalition arithmetic at the national level.

From National Player to Electoral Decline

Founded under the leadership of Kanshi Ram in the late 1980s, the BSP steadily evolved from a movement-based party into a decisive electoral force. At its peak, it was far more than a regional outfit.

The high point came in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, when the BSP secured 21 seats with a 6.17% national vote share, emerging as the third-largest party in Parliament. Even during the BJP’s 2014 landslide under Narendra Modi, the BSP polled 4.19% votes, though it failed to win any seats—an early indication of the widening gap between vote share and seat conversion.

A brief revival followed in 2019, when a strategic alliance with the Samajwadi Party helped the BSP return with 10 MPs. However, the momentum proved short-lived. In the 2024 elections, the party’s vote share fell sharply to 2.07%, and it once again failed to open its account.

Influence Beyond Uttar Pradesh

At its height, the BSP’s footprint extended well beyond Uttar Pradesh. The party sent MPs to Parliament from Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, and had MLAs in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

It also played a crucial role as a coalition partner with regional parties such as the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab. In recent years, the BSP even managed to win a seat in the Bihar Assembly—evidence of its residual organisational presence.

The Golden Moment of 2007

The BSP’s political ambition reached its zenith in 2007, when Mayawati led the party to a full majority government in Uttar Pradesh. That period remains a source of pride for party cadres. The slogan of the time—“UP is ours, Delhi is next”—captured the BSP’s aspiration to play a decisive role in national governance.

Through its strategy of social engineering, the party redefined Dalit politics and demonstrated that marginalised communities could directly claim power, not merely influence it from the margins.

Core Vote Bank Still Intact

Despite its sustained electoral decline, the BSP’s core Jatav Dalit vote base in Uttar Pradesh remains largely intact. This enduring support is widely regarded as Mayawati’s greatest political asset—one that no rival party has been able to fully erode.

Because of this vote-transfer potential, the BSP continues to be viewed as a crucial factor in tightly contested elections, particularly in anti-BJP configurations. Even with diminished seat tallies, the party’s ability to influence outcomes ensures that Mayawati remains relevant in opposition politics.

Several opposition parties, wary of vote fragmentation, continue to explore possibilities of tactical alignment with the BSP, acknowledging its capacity to swing results in key constituencies.

2027 Assembly Polls: A Turning Point

After a prolonged period of organisational inactivity, Mayawati has shown signs of renewed political engagement in recent months. In this context, the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are widely seen as decisive for the BSP’s future.

The outcome will determine whether the party can arrest its decline and reclaim political space—or whether its marginalisation will deepen further.

For now, the BSP stands at a historic crossroads. A movement that once reshaped Indian politics by giving voice and power to Dalit aspirations is on the threshold of complete parliamentary absence. Its fate will not only define the future of one party, but may also mark the end of a significant era in India’s political history.