Mayawati blamed the media for the BSP’s defeat in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Although it is not correct, on Saturday, she alleged that various TV channels had unilaterally promoted the BJP. The Dalit leader said, “The caste-based program has been propagated in a planned manner. In this situation, we have decided that no representative of the BSP will take part in any debate on the TV channel. ”
The upper caste, as well as the Dalit vote, are believed to have played a significant role in the BJP’s two-time victory in the Lucknow seat contest. The BSP got more than 22 percent votes in the 2017 assembly polls but this time it has come down to 12 percent only. The BSP has won only one of the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The BJP’s vote share has been increased by more than 3 percent compared to five years ago, as part of the party’s three-and-a-half-decade-old Dalit vote went to the BJP’s side.
There are more than 70 subgroups of Dalit society in Uttar Pradesh. Most of them are Jatav (leather) subgroups. Maya herself is a representative of that society. Despite the BSP’s support for the Jats in this election, many political analysts believe that the votes of other major Dalit sub-groups like Kori, Pasi, and Khatik have gone to the BJP.
