Mayawati's BSP Faces Historic Crisis With No Parliament Presence and Zero MLAs in UP

The Bahujan Samaj Party faces an existential crisis as it prepares to lose its last remaining member in Parliament and holds zero seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

Leadership Changes

Party supremo Mayawati recently appointed her younger nephew, Ishan Anand, as the new national coordinator. This role was previously held by his elder brother, Akash Anand, who was removed from all party responsibilities after earlier being expelled by Mayawati. INSIDERS NOTE BSP insiders describe Mayawati's leadership style as autocratic, running the party without fully addressing its ongoing decline since its founding by Kanshi Ram in 1984.

Parliament and State Loss

In two months, the BSP will have no representation in Parliament for the first time in 37 years. The party's lone member in the Rajya Sabha, Ramji Gautam, will see his term end on November 25, and the party currently has no seats in the Lok Sabha. At the state level, the BSP lost its last MLA when Umashankar Singh from the Rasra constituency in Ballia passed away in August at the age of 55. The party now has no members in either the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council.

Electoral Decline

Founded in 1984, the BSP reached a high point in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections by winning 21 seats with a 6.17 percent vote share. However, the party won zero seats in the 2014 and 2024 general elections, though a 2019 alliance with the Samajwadi Party helped it secure 10 seats. In Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the party won 80 seats in 2012, 19 seats in 2017, and just one seat in 2022. Several former ministers and prominent leaders have also left the party over the years to join the Samajwadi Party.