Keeping 2024 alliance option open, Mayawati goes soft on Congress as she rejigs BSP’s social maths

Sources said that her party has deputed its leaders from different castes and communities in every district of the state to reach out to those voters who shifted from the BSP to other parties in the wake of its waning vote share and steady fall in number of seats since 2012.

While Mayawati has claimed that her party will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections alone, sources said the BSP is also keeping a watch on the moves of other Opposition parties, and may take a final decision on any alliance closer to the elections.

During their Patna meeting, 15 Opposition parties, including the Congress, started their exercise of working out an action plan against the BJP for the 2024 elections.

BSP sources said its leaders have also been directed to go soft on the Congress in their speeches. In the official statement issued after a meeting with its UP leaders a couple of days before the Patna meet, Mayawati had attacked the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP), but made no comment on the Congress. “It has been informally communicated to leaders not to attack the Congress with strong words. It seems the party has kept the option of alliance open for the future,” said a BSP leader.

A BSP MP said, “It appears that the BSP is going soft on the Congress. And this option should be explored too. Congress can be considered a good alliance option for the party in 2024.”

The party’s UP president Vishwanath Pal said, “Since Behenji (Mayawati) has not said anything on this matter, I can’t comment. We will follow any guideline given by her.”

The Patna Opposition meeting was the second such anti-BJP platform from which Mayawati was absent. In August 2017, the BSP had skipped the RJD’s ‘BJP Bhagao, Desh Bachao’ rally in Patna, arguing then that it would not share stage with any Opposition party until the contours of an alliance among non-BJP parties, and seat-sharing formula for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, were finalised.

On the eve of the Opposition’s June 23 conclave, Mayawati had also disparaged the attempt at Opposition unity by JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, saying, “Dil mile na mile, haath milate rahiye (Whether hearts connect or not, keep shaking hands).”

Earlier, on January 15, Mayawati, commenting on Opposition unity efforts, had said the BSP’s ideology was different from that of other Opposition parties, so it will contest the elections without getting into any alliance. She had also said that rumours of a possible tie-up her party might get into, were being spread by the Congress and other parties.

Meanwhile, the BSP is running its “Gaon Chalo Abhiyan” in UP to reach out to rural voters, through which the party is also evaluating the strength of its booth and sector committees. According to party insiders, this is the first time the BSP is running a campaign with focus especially on rural voters. At every booth, the party has a five-member committee to maintain contact with voters and speak to them about the BSP’s ideology. For every 8-10 booths, it has formed a sector committee that consists of over 70 members.

“The party is also going to start cadre camps, in which closed-door meetings will be held with selected dedicated workers in each Assembly segment, to discuss strategy and preparations on the ground,” said another party leader.

Keeping youths in mind as the party’s future, the BSP has also called for 50% youth participation in the party. In its ongoing booth and sector meetings, party leaders are also keeping track of the participation of youths.

Earlier this month, Mayawati announced that she had asked the party’s national coordinator Akash Anand to launch election campaigns in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. Sources said he has started his work with Madhya Pradesh. “Akash has held important responsibilities in the past. Behanji (Mayawati) is grooming him as the future leader,” said a BSP leader.

In the recent UP urban local body polls, the BSP had experimented with social engineering by reaching out to Muslims and Dalits. That attempt failed, as all 11 of its Muslim mayoral candidates lost, with only three of them finishing second. “Still, Mayawati is the only leader who can transfer votes and also win back votes that have shifted to other parties. Under her leadership, the BSP is a strong political force in UP and cannot be ignored,” said a BSP leader. He added that non-Jatav Dalits and Pasmanda Muslims have shifted from the BSP to the BJP over the past few years, and that the party was working to get them back by 2024.