2012: Maya banks on Kanshiram to keep her Dalit flock

The main concern of the BSP leadership is to remove the confusion,if any,in the minds of party voters regarding party’s efforts to pursue Kanshiram’s policy.

BSP sources said the party leadership is worried over the efforts by Opposition parties,particularly the Congress,to make dents in the BSP’s core votebank by highlighting atrocities on Dalits,including rape of Dalit women,and alleging that Chief Minister Mayawati had deviated from the path of BSP founder Kanshiram.

The BSP cannot take it lightly as,earlier in the 2009 Lok Sabha election,the party had seen its hold on certain Scheduled Communities like Sonkar,Pasi,Balmiki and Nishad weakening. As a result,it could win only two of the 17 reserved Lok Sabha seats in the state.

After that setback,to reassure the Dalits,the government had taken several measures like quota for SCs/STs in government contracts and special housing scheme for them. The BSP would use Kanshiram’s birth anniversary to remind the Dalits of these and other measures it has taken for their welfare,said a BSP leader.

Besides the Opposition attacks,another factor that has troubled the BSP leadership is reports about party MLAs not paying attention to the problems faced by Dalits. “The MLAs who represent general seats tend to take the SC support to the BSP for granted. In many constituencies,there is resentment over this neglect,” said a party leader. Zonal coordinators of the party have been asked to identify such areas and initiate corrective measures.