Struggles have been a part of the life of Mayawati at family level and political level as well. It made her a battler of indomitable spirit. Weak willed fall down to challenges while the determined ones come out of them stronger than before.
The follower of Buddha, Baba Saheb Ambedkar was a living example of the battler against odds. Inspired by his example Kanshiram and Mayawati chose the daunting path of struggles. On April 14, 1984 on the birth anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar a political party called ‘Bahujan Samaj Party’ was launched by Kanshiram to carry forward the battle. For struggles new doors opened and the scope ever became wider and deeper.
Making struggle the aim of his life Kanshiram reached every corner of the country to spread the Bahujan movement. Meanwhile Mayawati remained in UP and Delhi consolidating the gains worked up by Kanshiram, herself and their dedicated workers. UP was aimed to be made the fortress to fight the Dalit movement wars from. To execute various campaigns of the party leaders, workers and supporters worked hard in their assigned regions. In population UP could be 7th largest nation of the world.
All year long, the dedicated BSP leaders and committed party workers would carry on various campaigns in all parts of the country with missionary zeal. They would cover villages and towns arousing the sentiments of the Dalits and backwards. Such kind of zeal amongst workers of a party was only witnessed in India during the independence struggle when Non-cooperation and Swadeshi movements were on. So busy the party workers would be that a year would just fly by. That is the real power of BSP that springs from its missionary leaders and tireless dedicated workers.
The first part of their struggle was to awaken the Dalits and educate them on the social and the political situation. Now the struggle was to gain the control of the master key to the power of the country to employ the resources to the upliftment of the Dalit and the backward communities.
Once again the parties battled for 1996 Lok Sabha. In Punjab BSP won three seats out of ten and exulted. The party leaders got carried away and they broke alliance with Congress for assembly polls. Congress was not ready to concede 35 seats out of 117 BSP demanded. Kanshiram aligned with Simranjit Singh Mann, an extremist Sikh who had no party network and worthwhile organisation. The result was disastrous. BSP won only one seat. Such a drubbling it had not expected. But it spoiled the prospects of Congress as well by cutting into the latter’s vote base.
The total rout in his own home state shocked Kanshiram. He got demoralised and found it hard to accept the defeat. He was again looking at BJP support. He had good relationship with A.B. Vajpayee. In the way of BSP-BJP coalition in UP, L.K. Advani was a hurdle. Kanshiram wanted to win him over too. Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi were already in the favour of alliance. Local BJP chieftain Kalyan Singh was dead set against the alliance. Party leaders managed to send him on a tour without hinting about the alliance. The coalition deal was worked on paper. Advani was notified about the deal. The terms of the deal were as under—
- The post of chief ministership would he hold by both parties in turns of six-month terms. Mayawati would start the first term.
- Both parties will have equal number of ministers in the cabinet.
- BJP would get speaker’s post of upper house.
- A panel of Vajpayee, Kanshiram and L.K. Advani will oversee the functioning of the coalition.
- After a year the parties would assess the outcome of the experiment. The arrangement would continue if found satisfactory.
The agreement was forced on Kalyan Singh as fait accompli. The agreement was made public through a press conference.
However Kalyan Singh was not at all happy at the humiliating terms of the agreement. BJP had far more MLAs than BSP, yet Mayawati got to start the first chief ministerial term. BSP got equal number of ministries and that too was disproportionate in favour of BSP.
In reaching this agreement too much haggling had taken place. Kanshiram had initially made too many demands and many of them were brazenly unjustified. BSP had a lurking fear that too much concession to BJP would anger its Muslim supporters. They had to appear to be tough on BJP leaders.
There was a compulsion too behind this bizarre agreement. Mulayam Singh was stalking both the parties and his strength was increasing. Kanshiram wanted to make Mayawati chief minister to pre-empt any move by Mulayam Singh. The latter was capable of engineering defections from BSP members in flocks. Then with the help of Congress he could outwit BSP and BJP.
Mayawati had returned to power with the support of BJP yet again. Kalyan Singh fell in line under duress. Mulayam Singh did everything to prevent her return to power. Even the governor had become the part of the conspiracy. At last on March 21, 1997 Mayawati and her ministers took oath of office.
Her example proved to all in the country and the world that the time had changed. Now even a Dalit could rise to occupy the high seats of power. Although she was to be at top job of the state for only six months yet it became clear notwithstanding the agreement Mayawati will allow no room for BJP to fan around its communal agenda. All the plum ministries she had kept for her party and BJP got only leftovers. In her tenure Mayawati resorted to large scale transfers of civil and police officers numbering about 1350 to streamline administration and make it Dalit friendly. Her favoured policeman became the D.I.G. of Lucknow.
Mayawati worked at hectic pace to complete the tasks left half done in her last tenure. She wanted her pet projects of memorials and parks executed as fast as possible. She only had six months.
The work on Ambedkar Park began in earnest. She killed the governor’s golf course project.
Mayawati tried to provide legal protection to landless labourers and poor farmers especially those belonging to lower castes who were targeted by upper castes. Mulayam alleged that the law was meant to harass SP workers. He even appealed to the governor and central home minister to act against Mayawati.
Gradually it was becoming clear that BSP was no more interested in that coalition government. In an interview Kanshiram admitted that he would prefer early elections. He said, “The coalition in UP was a forced marriage of BSP-BJP enacted merely to teach a lesson to Congress and United Front. I have asked Mayawati to do six year job in her alloted six months to double our vote share in ensuing elections. My only aim is to take forward BSP. And for that purpose I am ready to do deals with any party any time. There was no ideological point in agreement with BJP. Infact we two are opposites. The agreement was for broadening the base of BSP. As soon as we realise the coalition is gaining us nothing we will end it. I am looking for a useful ladder.”
Mayawati was having strained relationship with the governor. It all started when she forced governor to read address written by her authors in which all the errors and excesses allegedly committed during the governor’s rule were highlighted.
Some Shia sect followers wanted to take out a religious procession in Lucknow. There had been a ban on such processions for ten years to prevent Shia-Sunni clashes. Mayawati refused permission. In protest three Shia followers self-immolated at Durgah of Hazrat Abbas. They died in a Delhi hospital.
The governor wanted the dead bodies brought to Lucknow. Mayawati would not agree fearing the communal tension. She called the governor an agent of Mulayam Singh. That caused frayed tempers. The governor retaliated by refusing to appoint a chosen one of Mayawati to upper house. To make matters worse the governor refused to sign some ordinances Mayawati wanted issued.
On the other hand, as Mayawati was going to complete her six month tenure BJP was in some confusion and rivalry. A section wanted Mayawati given free hand to do whatever she liked and BJP must wait for its turn. Kalyan Singh faction was against this. He would not trust Mayawati and thought she was creating bad blood between factions of BJP. The party was yet to decide upon its chief ministerial candidate. Some leaders wanted an upper caste given the job to redeem the faith of upper caste voters in BJP that had got eroded when Mayawati was made CM.
Kalyan Singh thought it was a conspiracy against him to deny the post. He had been promised by the top leadership that after Mayawati he would be the CM. Kalyan Singh threatened to rebel against the attempt and force mid-term polls. It alaramed BJP leadership and after a lot of discussion it was decided Kalyan Singh would get the chance.
Meanwhile, the tense relationship between BSP and BJP continued. There was some issue or the other the two parties haggled over in the mood of confrontation. Each party wanted its pound of flesh from the other. These acts left deep scars and void between the two parties widened. During the oath taking ceremony when Kalyan Singh and his BJP ministers took oath thunderous applause greeted them. When BSP ministers took oath there was an errie pindrop silence.
Chief minister Kalyan Singh tried to resurrect his fanatical image for the benefit of communal elements. Countering the acts he indulged in that could antagonise Muslim community.
Kalyan Singh issued an ordinance that was patently against scheduled tribes/castes. It gave a long rope to tormentors and persecutors of those classes. The law was in a way retaliation to Mayawati who had passed law during her tenure that had given protection and advantage to scheduled classes. It was mortifying for Kanshiram and Mayawati. It was a paradoxical situation where coalition partners were acting like enemies at war. Kanshiram began an agitation against the law imposed by Kalyan Singh. Other parties were also holding demonstrations against Kalyan Singh. BSP was hoping that the court would indict Kalyan Singh in Babri demolition cace which was due. But the court gave reprieve to Kalyan Singh to the dismay of BSP and the secular outfits.
At last BSP withdrew its support to Kalyan Singh when all other options dried up. But Mayawati was in for a shock. Kalyan Singh government did not fall. They had underestimated the scheming mind of Kalyan Singh. He had managed defections from BSP, Janata Dal and Congress to his side to prove his majority. BSP lost 12 MLAs to Kalyan Singh. He had offered ministerial berths to all the defectors and formed a huge ministry. The governor tried to derail Kalyan and impose governor’s rule but could not succeed. Then he tried to induce defectors. One of them, Jagdambika Pal claimed he had the majority support. The governor gave him oath of office of chief minister and asked him to prove majority in three days. The people thought Kalyan Singh had met his match.
But Allahabad High Court ruled the Pal government illegal and dismissed it. Happy days returned to Kalyan Singh. It was sad news for BSP. It lost 17 more MLAs to crafty Kalyan Singh. The party appeared to be disintegrating. It was a matter of grave worry for Kanshiram and they did not know how to shore up the morale of their cadres and supporters. Kanshiram was angry with his turncoat MLAs and critical of Mayawati for her failure to keep the flock under control.
Once BSP was the party that used to fight lone battles. Now it needed the support of other parties to stay afloat. It forged alliance with Congress in Punjab and with Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar. Only in UP it needed no partner. The election results were very disappointing for BSP.
