The rise of the Bahujan Samaj Party to prominence has been one of the most significant features of Indian politics over the last decade. Far more than rival Dalit led parties in other parts of the country, it has been able to emerge as an autonomous actor that combines electoral muscle with the ability to leverage its power with larger non-Dalit formations. This year within just a decade and a half of its inception it hopes to cross a major milestone by polling over five per cent of the votes cast nationwide ...

But the significance of Kanshi Ram's party goes well beyond the game of numbers. In common with other such formations it has come to symbolise the Dalit search for power and dignity ... Its rise coincided with and facilitated the decline of the hold of the Congress on Dalit loyalties first in Punjab and then in Uttar Pradesh. The extension of reservation via the Mandal Commission in 1990 further polarised interest groups. As the old order has crumbled many have seen the choice as one between Mandal and Mandir. Such analysis does not account for the changing place of Dalits in the political order.

Ten years ago, when the Congress lost its hold (in UP) the BSP polled as many as ten per cent of the votes in Uttar Pradesh. Since then Mayawati has twice served as chief minister though only at the head of shaky alliance regimes. In fact, her party shared power with the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as had an electoral accord with its great rival, the Congress, both within the space of one year. Today the BSP is trying to win fresh minority support ... If it eats into Mulayam's minority support, it may increase its tally beyond four seats in the state.

In a sense, the dilemma of the Bahujan Samaj Party is evident in its very name. Dalit comprise just over sixteen per cent of India's voters. Even in UP, where they number over one fifth, they are not by themselves large enough to propel a party to power. The claim of a 'Bahujan Samaj' however points to a desire to unite under Dalit leadership a wider section of society, the vast majority leaving out only the upper castes. Its core appeal is to the scheduled castes but its success ... rests on its capacity to attract non-Dalits.

It is this ambition that makes it difficult for her party to have an enduring relationship with other parties. The expansion of its own support cannot but prove costly to it in the long run.

With over twenty per cent of the vote in as many as 53 Lok Sabha seats the party has already emerged as a force to reckon with. It is significant in northern Madhya Pradesh where it actually won two seats in 1996. In Kanshi Ram's native Punjab and in neighbouring Haryana it regularly corners over ten per cent of the vote and has to be factored into the calculations of its rivals. The successes in north India have not been equalled in other parts of the country.

In part this reflects the longer record of social reform movements in the south and the west. The transfer of power from the old priestly classes to the cultivating castes took place a few decades ago.

But even here, there are other Dalit formations that have created their own space. None has been as successful as the BSP but they do matter. In Tamil Nadu, the Puthiya Tamizhagam poses a challenge to the hegemony of the Dravidian parties in alliance this time with GK Moopanar it hopes to gain in votes and make a debut in the Lok Sabha. In Maharashtra, the divisions in the Republican Party of India, the oldest Dalit led party in the country have only worked to the advantage of either the Congress or the Hindutva forces. Yet, the very fact that Congress has not won any election in the state without a successful alliance with it shows that the RPI does matter.

What sets Kanshi Ram's party apart from such groups is his unwillingness to play second fiddle to anyone else. The internal cohesion of his organisation a great asset. Further the scheduled castes have made major strides in public sector and government jobs through reservations in north India and it is these government servants who are the backbone of the BSP. What the party has done is to tap their skills while fostering a deep sense of identification with it among their less well off brethren. It is this commonality built not on an economic agenda but on a sense of social exclusion that explains its ascendancy.

Vote hamara raj tumhara nahin chalega nahin chalega ... has been central to the appeal of the party ...

At the same time the BSP faces serious hurdles in its way. If a centrist formation responds to its core concerns as the Congress has to some extent in Madhya Pradesh, the party's growth is checked even if its base is not dented. There is a second more critical problem as in UP where both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kalyan Singh have gained from a Dalit versus "backward" polarisation. This needs to be overcome, and fresh solidarities cutting across this divide created, for Kanshi Ram's party to make headway.

... In a sense it is the coming of universal franchise and the access to reservation in independent India that has led to democracy finding expression in such ways. The BSP's dream of ruling the country may not be realised in the last election of the millennium. But in future ... Dalit power will surely play a role. (Source: The Times of India, 20 August, 1999)