In an apparent show of strength to galvanise the party cadre ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will hold a large gathering of party leaders and workers at the Kanshi Ram memorial in Lucknow on October 9, the death anniversary of the party founder.
Such a large public meeting is being held at the memorial in the presence of party president Mayawati after a gap of three years. At the October 9 programme, the party will launch its mission to win the state elections in 2027 and the Lok Sabha polls in 2029, BSP state president Vishwanath Pal said.
Last time Mayawati addressed such a large gathering was on October 9 in 2021, ahead of the 2022 state Assembly polls. The party, however, was reduced to just one seat in the Assembly at the time with a vote share of 12.8 per cent.
On Sunday, Mayawati held a meeting of party’s top functionaries in Lucknow for the preparations of the programme on October 9 for reviewing the campaign to form district- and booth-level committees to expand the party’s grassroots base.
Sources said the BSP workers from UP and Uttarakhand will attend the programme and will reach the state capital a day before the function. The party’s local unit has booked Ramabai Ambedkar maidan on the outskirts of the city for providing accommodation to the party workers. The party is expecting a gathering of more than 1 lakh people, it is learnt.
The Kanshi Ram memorial, formally called the Manyawar Shri Kanshi Ram Smarak Sthal, was developed on 60 acres of land during the tenure of the Mayawati government in the state.
In the central atrium of the memorial, 18-foot-high bronze statues of Mayawati and Kanshi Ram stand on a pedestal.
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“For the past few years, party leaders visited the memorial premises on October 9 but they were not allowed to enter the main memorial because of repair work going on there. We used to place a photograph of Kanshi Ram ji outside the main dome structure and offered floral tributes. Behanji (Mayawati) was not visiting the memorial for the same reason. But the repair work is nearing completion and BSP supporters this time will get entry inside the memorial,” said a senior party functionary.
Mayawati will address the rally and give directions to the cadre and supporters for the party’s future course of action, he added.
At Sunday’s meeting, Mayawati voiced concern over what she termed a “political conspiracy” to disturb social harmony by showing disrespect to places of worship and revered figures of different religions. She said all governments should abandon communal and hateful politics and adopt a strict legal approach against those responsible for such incidents to establish peace in the country.
The BSP supremo, without naming anyone, expressed serious concern over attempts to spoil the social, communal and political atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh and other states by targeting religious places and saints, gurus and great men.
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“The governments should abandon narrow, casteist, communal and hateful politics and establish the rule of law by adopting a strict legal approach towards such criminal elements, so that all people can earn their livelihood peacefully, take care of their families and arrange education for their children,” a press statement said, quoting her.
She also cautioned party workers about emerging challenges in the political, social and economic situation in the country, including Uttar Pradesh.
The BSP chief expressed satisfaction over achieving about 80 per cent of the target for the ongoing organisational campaign and said the remaining work would be taken up after a state-wide programme on October 9 to mark the BSP founder’s death anniversary.
— PTI inputs
