Following a devastating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati's issued press release indicates that the BSP has been completely brought to its knees in this election, losing even its core Jatav support base. Mayawati did not address her declining voter base, nor why, election after election, her vote share is diminishing. However, she did attempt to blame the Muslim electorate once again for her defeat.
Mayawati wrote in the press release, "Despite allotting ample tickets to Muslims, they failed to vote for us. Going forward, we must be more reflective when granting political participation in the elections." The shock for Mayawati is that the BSP has received even fewer votes than the Congress Party this time. This shift amongst the Dalits towards the India block is attributed to the Congress Party. Rahul Gandhi's 'Bahujan' incarnation is most troubling for Mayawati.
It is believed that Mayawati's vote bank has slipped to around 8 percent, and an alarming dip in her usual supporters, much more than one-third, was observed. This time, not just the core Jatav voters, but non-Jatav Dalits, who were her supporters, have significantly shifted away. Chandrashekhar Azad's grand victory in the Nagina seat and BSP's near obliteration hint at a major shift in Dalit politics.
The results from the Nagina seat indicate the declining trend of BSP's politics. Nagina is where Mayawati had fought her first election, but this time the party could not even save its deposit and ended up with a meager number of votes. Chandrashekhar Azad led by 512,552 votes while BSP could only garner 13,272 - a stark difference of 499,280 votes. Dalits in the area did not even consider Mayawati's party. In the neighboring Bijnor seat, BSP also finished third.
The BSP failed to come in second on any of the 10 seats it previously held, finishing either third or fourth. For Mayawati, the path ahead is becoming increasingly difficult as her vote bank shifts towards Congress and the Samajwadi Party. Mayawati's go-it-alone strategy and the label of being BJP's 'B' team is becoming a curse for the BSP.
With 2027 elections on the horizon, the question remains whether Mayawati will pivot towards alliances against the BJP or continue to fight alone. The political isolation faced by Mayawati seems so profound that only a miracle could reintegrate her party into the mainstream.
