Refusal to develop a second-rung leadership, inability to focus on local issues and a highly centralised system of working have prevented the Bahujan Samaj Party from spreading its wings in other states.
The BSP drew a blank in the recent Assembly elections in five states and despite hectic campaigning by BSP president Mayawati, the party failed to put up a satisfactory performance.
The BSP has met similar fate in Assembly polls held in other states in recent years. The party did win six seats in Rajasthan but the BSP MLAs lost no time in crossing over to the Congress-led government.
The BSP comforts itself with the argument that its vote share in all states has increased even though it could not translate into seats. “The fact remains that the party’s strategy for UP will not work in other states. In UP, it is Mayawati who is leading the party but in other states, we will have to develop leadership within the party because the voters now want a face from the party. Mayawati’s magic will not work in Tamil Nadu because people there know that she will be there to lead the party,” said a senior BSP functionary from Tamil Nadu who was here to meet Ms Mayawati after the poll results. The party functionary, who spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that the party’s refusal to develop second-rung leadership in the state is hampering the BSP’s growth.
“Look at the Congress. Mrs Sonia Gandhi rules the party but every state has its own leadership that addresses the people directly. The problem with the BSP is that everything is Mayawati-centric and the party, in non-UP states, cannot survive beyond a point,” he explained. Another factor that seems to have restricted the growth of the BSP is its inability to focus on local issues. “In Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh, we will have to focus on local issues. Merely highlighting the achievements of the Mayawati government in UP or publicising the memorials and monuments in Lucknow will not suffice,” he said.