The late arrival of Mayawati is making waves, but would it be enough to win the election in UP remains to be seen

If you thought Mayawati and her Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) had given up on the UP Assembly election, it is time to do a rethink. A day ago, after coming out of her self-created cocoon, she made it a point to tell the media persons around, not to repeat their mistake of ignoring the BSP as they did in 2007.

Mayawati’s return to the poll centre stage needs to be taken seriously. The rival parties who have been on a campaign spree seemed to have been neglecting the presence of the BSP in Uttar Pradesh. But she has arrived, though a bit late. Only her entry needs to be called late, as we had been noticing BSP workers working at the grassroots level to ensure maximum number of votes to the candidates the party had fielded sans much fanfare.

In Agra, when Mayawati made her re-entry, it was a celebration of sorts for the arty workers. Seeks votes for a ‘full-majority government’ in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP supremo lashed out against the ruling BJP, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, or her main rivals so to say. She called upon voters to reject the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party and vote for her party.

With the UP assembly poll campaign for 2022 kick-started from Agra which is also termed the Dalit capital, the leader also lambasted the media, along with the rival parties, for having spread rumours that she was missing from the poll scene. She attributed her absence in UP spots to her being busy with party work in Lucknow.

Mayawati goes all out against rival parties

The attack on the Congress banked on how the party ignored the contributions of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. She went on to flay the grand old party for not Ambedkar with the Bharat Ratna. Also, she was extremely critical of the Congress for not declaring a single day of condolence when Kanshiram had passed away. She decimated the Congress saying that the party which once used to rule many states and the Centre is now nowhere in the picture. Mayawati also stated that the Congress party’s so called love for the Dalits is fake.

She did not leave the Samajwadi Party also alone. Alleging that the party has been promoting lawlessness in the state, she added that whenever SP comes to power, the Dalits always have a tough time. Coming all out against the BJP, Mayawati said the saffron outfit was one with a caste bias. Accusing the party as endorsing and encouraging religious divide for votes, she wanted the voters to reject all these parties this time and vote for the BSP.

Strongly positioning herself and her party as crusaders for Dalit rights, Mayawati also sought voters’ attention to the BJP way of not providing the benefit of reservation as the party has been promoting the private sector.

Does the BSP have the ammunition to make a difference?

Will Mayawati’s arrival on the poll campaign scene make much of a difference is one question doing the rounds. The answer would have to wait. For, the UP election campaign strategies by the BJP, SP and the Congress party have come a long way and most debates have left Mayawati and the BSP out.

The BSP supremo would need some hard work to come at par with what is happening right now in the state. Her late entry could make waves, but on a smaller scale. The ball is now in the court of the rival parties. With Mayawati back on the scene, the BJP, SP and the Congress will have to do a bit of strengthening in their election campaign processes. Will we see strategies being reworked? Let’s wait to know.