Mayawati, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has been unanimously re-elected as the National President of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Tuesday. The BSP released a statement sharing this information. The decision was made during a special meeting of the BSP’s Central Executive Committee and senior party officials from state and national levels, along with representatives from across the country.
Mayawati first took the oath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in June 1995 and has held the position four times.
According to the statement, BSP National General Secretary and former MP Satish Chandra Mishra announced Mayawati’s unanimous election as party president. After the election, Mayawati briefly addressed the party members and assured both small and big party workers and supporters that she is always ready to make any sacrifice to take the party forward.
Mayawati said, “An endless struggle will be carried out to achieve the master key of power to realize the true purpose of public interest and welfare as envisioned by Dr. Ambedkar in the Constitution, in the interest of millions of Dalits and Bahujans.”
She emphasized that Dalits and Bahujans must learn to rely on their own strength, or else they will continue to be deceived and forced to live a life of helplessness and slavery.
Taking a dig at the NDA government, she stated that even after the elections, where the NDA government fell short of a majority, their attitude is still not logical or fair, as the situation demands, and therefore it cannot be called a stable and strong government.
She added that despite the electoral defeat, the BSP is not disheartened but continues to fight with the hope that one day this struggle will bear fruit for the Bahujans, meaning the majority of the population. She also criticized both the Congress and BJP, claiming that neither of these central parties are true well-wishers of minorities and backward communities.
A day before this meeting, on Monday, Mayawati said that there is no question of her retiring from active politics.
There was speculation in the media about this BSP meeting, with some guessing that Mayawati might elevate her nephew Akash Anand’s role in the party. There were also rumors that she might retire.
On Monday, the BSP leader wrote on “X” (formerly Twitter) that, “The decision to dedicate my life, like Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram Ji, to the BSP’s self-respect and pride movement until my last breath is firm. I will not allow the opponents’ conspiracies to weaken the Ambedkarite movement of the Bahujans.”
The BSP was founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984, and Mayawati played an active role in it. Kanshi Ram declared Mayawati as his successor during a rally in Lucknow on December 15, 2001.
After Kanshi Ram’s health declined, Mayawati was first elected as the BSP president on September 18, 2003, and has since been re-elected unopposed.
