In the political history of Haryana, only one BSP MP has been elected so far
Chandigarh: Over the past four decades, the magic of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not been effective in Haryana’s Lok Sabha elections. In each election, the BSP has alternated between forming alliances and contesting independently on all seats. This time, the BSP is contesting independently on all 10 seats and has announced its candidates for 8 seats so far. Despite once reaching a vote share of up to 15 percent, the party has struggled to sustain its influence, facing setbacks as traditional Dalit vote banks shifted and key leaders departed.
However, recent steps indicate a resurgence effort by the party. Prior to the elections, the party appointed youth leader Rajbir Sorkhi as president to strengthen its position. Campaigns have been launched to bolster the party’s old voter base at the booth level in rural areas. Candidates have been announced in districts like Rohtak, Faridabad, Sonipat, Hisar, Karnal, Bhiwani, Ambala, and Gurugram. The party claims to announce candidates for the remaining two seats in the coming days.
The party achieved its highest vote share in 2009, fielding ten candidates and securing over 15 percent of the votes. Although none of its candidates won, the party established a strong presence. However, its political ground has been slipping since then, failing to reach over 5 percent vote share in the subsequent two Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 elections, BSP received a mere 3.6 percent of the votes.
In Haryana’s political history, BSP has only once elected a Member of Parliament. In 1998, BSP contested in alliance with INLD. Its former leader Aman Nagar won the Ambala Lok Sabha seat by defeating the BJP candidate with 2864 votes. Aman remains the first and last BSP MP from the state, with no BSP candidate winning since then.
Speaking to The Financial World, BSP’s state president Rajbir Sorkhi emphasized the party’s ground-level work. Over the past few months, the party has been strengthening its cadre at the booth level in rural areas. The party’s central leadership remains in constant touch with us. Undoubtedly, this time the party’s results are going to be miraculous.
