Indeed, the firebrand leader of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati ... has proved the prophets of doom wrong ...  What was the secret of (her) success?

Former BSP minister and Mayawati loyalist R.K. Choudhary explains: Kanshi Ram and Mayawati have diligently followed the slogan - each one's share according to his strength. Thus, they gave 17 per cent tickets to Muslims, 38 per cent to backwards, 20 per cent to Dalits, and 10 per cent to upper castes. They also developed leadership across the state in the castes neglected by other political parties such as Pal, Shakya, Baghel, Maurya, Pushkar, and Saini among the backwards, and Sankhawar, Pasi, Dhobi, Valmiki and Khatiks among Dalits. This paid dividends.

Then, having decided to fight the Lok Sabha election alone, the BSP leadership took three major steps:

Ø  Early selection of candidates ..

Ø  Setting up a poll management system by dividingVidhan Sabha segments into sectors of 20 polling booths ..

Ø  Identifying winning seats, which included those 16 in which the BSP had ended second in 1998.

The result was spectacular. The party won 14 seats and finished second in another 14. Of the 16 it concentrated on, it won seven ... The basic strategy was to evolve a constituency-specific winning caste combination". This explains the party's fielding a Brahmin in Jalesar and a Thakur in Sultanpur ...

Away from the media glare, she campaigned in all 85 constituencies by road. The party did not hire filmstars or resort to any gimmicks. In the end, she convinced her flock that she could best protect their interests. (Source: The Times of India)