The failure to become a “balance of power” in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh during the recent Assembly elections has not deterred Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati to halt her expansion plans. Instead, she will embark on a nationwide tour this month and focus on stretching her party’s reach in southern India.“Mayawatiji will address rally at Mysore on December 21, Chennai on December 22 and Kottayam in Kerala on December 23,” said Prof Suresh Mane, BSP national general secretary and party’s in-charge of all the four southern states. BSP sources said Mayawati would also review organisational matters in the region and would assign responsibilities to party leaders to prepare the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. The BSP is regularly holding camps for its cadre at the grassroots level in states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and has set up independent state offices there, said a party leader. Earlier this year, the party had also purchased a building in Bangalore for Rs 1.5 crore to set up its state office, he added.Keen to shed BSP’s image of a north Indian party and enlarge its base in south India, Mayawati has set a target of winning at least 10 Lok Sabha seats from states other then Uttar Pradesh, party sources said. As per party’s plan, these 10 seats would be from four southern states, Gujarat and Maharashtra.A BSP strategist based in Delhi and a frequent visitor of Tamil Nadu and other southern states said, “The party has been able to make a breakthrough in Tamil Nadu,” adding, “BSP Rajya Sabha member Ambeth Rajan has been assigned the task of spreading the organisational base of the party. The party is confident of enlarging its base with the joining of P Shivgami, a former IAS officer.” BSP sources here said several important leaders in the southern states had shown interest in the party’s ideology and programmes and a few important leaders and may enter into the party fold during Mayawati’s visit.
