In 1999 Kanshiram and Mayawati were preparing for the mid-term Lok Sabha polls necessitated by the fall of BJP government at centre led by A.B. Vajpayee. Congress had tried to cobble up a government but failed. It was also in no better shape. Mayawati’s dream of coming to power in UP with the help of Congress had also come crashing down.
The nation was in trouble due to internal political instability and uncertainties. It also faced external plots as others guessed India was vulnerable. Then Kargil happened. Pakistan had stealthily infiltrated into higher reaches and mountain tops of across Skardu. It was a military operation. Indian army rallied valiantly and regained the posts after great sacrifices. As the tide of war turned in India’s favour there was sudden upsurge in the popularity of Vajpayee. He was being projected as a war hero. It made opponents squirm.
BJP again won 180 seats but the situation this time was better than last time. It did well in Andhra, Maharashtra and Rajasthan but fared badly in UP. Nevertheless, BJP had gained majority along with its NDA partners. But for the Congress it was a disaster.
Mayawati and Kanshiram were having some policy differences. Kanshiram guessed that since NDA had the advantage BSP must become a part of NDA or at least a poll ally. He saw no harm in joining forces with those whose government they had brought down. But Mayawati stood firm that in their own home ground of UP they would need no allies. The battle had to be fought alone. She led the poll campaign and the results proved her right. BSP had increased its tally to 14 from the mere 4. The party workers and Kanshiram were impressed with the relentless work of Mayawati and dedicated campaigning.
Mayawati had won her homeground handsomely but Kanshiram came a cropper where he joined hand with allies in other states. In Punjab, his home he drew blank. It came as a shocker to him. He got badly demoralised.
Performance of Mayawati in UP was a shot in the arm of BSP. It was a great achievement and it was a sign of change for the better in UP. The Congress too had managed to recover some ground. Its vote share shot up to 15% from a meagre 6% in the earlier elections. It had partially regained the support amongst Muslims and Brahmins. It was the result of good feeling spread by Sonia Gandhi amongst its traditional voters.
The sympathy wave amongst Muslims for Congress had badly hurt Mulayam Singh. BJP too had badly slipped down. Its count stopped at 29. It had 57 seats in earlier Lok Sabha. Its count down had started. By the time 2002 state polls arrived BJP was ready for elimination. It had ditched Kalyan Singh and experimented with other leaders as CM. It was too late.
Mayawati had now strong hold on BSP. Now Kanshiram was giving her enough free hand. It was becoming apparent that Mayawati would be the political successor of Kanshiram. In a public speech Kanshiram declared that Mayawati was now ready to lead the party. She had eliminated all her detractors from the party. Mayawati was now preparing for the 2002 assembly polls with great enthusiasm and expectations.
In dealing with her detractors she had made full use of her control over the party. Some senior leaders she expelled from the party for indiscipline. One was shown the door because he failed to register his support to a resolution that gave special facilities to most suffering of the Dalits and backwards. It was meant to benefit untouchable section that was the support base of BSP although the person had stood by Mayawati during the ‘Guest House’ outrage let loose by SP workers. Many criticized her moves against old faithful of the party but behind it Mayawati had a game plan.
Mayawati tried to attract the support of Muslims also. She knew well the classes that formed more than half the state population belonged 33% to Dalits. Muslims and backwards of Hindus also suffered the same kind of trauma as the Dalits. Mayawati had cast a spell on them. Now there remained upper castes and middle classes. Mayawati gave them election tickets to create pockets of support in those communities. She was trying to fortify BSP from all angles.
Her strategem of giving tickets to upper castes was a clever move. Mayawati was softening up even those sections that detested her. She gave 12 seats to backwards and alloted 91 tickets to upper castes, Dalits got 97 and the Muslims 86. Even her opponents admired her clever strategy to attract all sections.
The results were as expected. BJP slipped down. BSP won 192 seats. SP improved its tally to 143. BJP got only 58 seats. Mayawati and her strategy were the real victors of this election. She had planned cleverly, acted fairly to all sections and for the success of her party she worked hard relentlessly.
Thus Mayawati saved BSP in UP and did not let it go down as it had done in Punjab. Mayawati had truly become rising star of Indian politics and the master of UP. She was ruling supreme. BSP had become leading force in UP and surprised everyone. Infact the media had made it a surprise. Upper caste controlled media always run down BSP, ignored it, gave it no chance and always printed negative report creating a false impression. Mayawati herself never cared for Manuist press and never begged for publicity or space in reportage. She knew her power base was Dalits, the illiterate folk who never read newspapers and it made no difference what they wrote or opined. The only thing that mattered for them was to stand by their ‘Bahenji’.
SP too was far away from majority but it hoped to form government with the support of BJP. It waited for that happy moment.
