As Mayawati's base shrinks, BJP, SP and Congress intensify fight for Dalit votes in UP

NEW DELHI: Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh is at a crossroads. For a very long time, Mayawati and her Bahujan Samaj Party were synonymous with the idea of Dalit vote in UP. Not any more. Mayawatiâs BSP today is a much weaker force. The last three elections in the state have pushed Mayawati, the four-time chief minister of UP, to the margins of state politics. This has opened up the Dalit space and triggered an interesting scramble among political parties for a slice of the Dalit pie in the 2027 assembly elections.Akhilesh Yadav announcing 14 extra seats for the Dalits to cement his PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) politics. Congress too is trying to win back voters it lost decades ago. Then there is Chandrashekhar Azad, who is trying to consolidate his own space in the state.

From 206 seats to one: How BSP lost ground

The BSPâs rise in UP politics was as dramatic as its fall. The party was founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984 with the idea of giving Dalits and other marginalized communities an independent voice.

Mayawati, who emerged as his political successor, took the BSP to great heights in Uttar Pradesh. Under her leadership, the BSP won a majority on its own in the 2007 assembly elections, winning 206 seats with a vote share of 30.43%.

BJP's Dalit outreach gets sharper ahead of 2027

One interesting fallout of BSPâs decline has been the BJPâs aggressive outreach to woo the Dalits. When Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced the renaming of Bhadohi district as Sant Ravidas Nagar last month, he put the BJP right at the middle of the Dalit outreach battle ahead of 2027 polls.

SPâs Dalit outreach

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections also showed that the Dalits in UP were ready to back other political parties who wooed them. Dalit support played a key role in the spectacular success of Akhilesh Yadavâs Samajwadi Party, which won 37 seats in 2024.

How Samajwadi Party performed when they contested independently

Congress tries to reclaim lost ground

Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that Dalits would now play a 'central role' in Congress. Before Mayawati and the BSP built their massive Dalit vote bank in the 1990s, Congress was the primary choice for Uttar Pradesh's Dalits. For nearly three decades after that, Congress was almost pushed out of UP politics.

Chandrashekhar Azad adds another claimant

Then there is Chandrashekhar Azad, whose 2024 victory from Nagina made him a prominent figure in UPâs Dalit politics. Unlike BJP, SP or Congress, Azad is trying to build an independent space outside the BSP. His challenge now is to take that appeal beyond one constituency and build an organisation strong enough to matter across the state in 2027.

Priyanka Mukherjee is an Assistant News Editor at The Times of India, where deadlines rarely slow down. Often juggling breaking news, long-form explainers and the everyday chaos of the newsroom, she is usually managing stress, chasing clarity and trying to log off on time (rarely successful). She also cares deeply about stories around womenâs rights and social change, while two very opinionated dogs make sure she never truly switches off.