Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, whose resignation from the Rajya Sabha was accepted on Thursday by Chairman Hamid Ansari, is likely to contest the Phulpur Lok Sabha seat.

This would give Mayawati an opening to enter the Lok Sabha, where her party presently does not have a single MP.

This can also be seen as a part of a political experiment ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to forge a grand coalition of the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.

Through her much-publicized resignation, the BSP chief hopes to create the moral ground for the launch of a campaign to mobilize her vote-bank, which is being increasingly wooed by the BJP. Phulpur has a substantial number of Muslim and Dalit voters. Given the scenario in the country, there is good chance that a joint opposition might sway the votes.

This looks as the most opportune moment as the Phulpur Lok Sabha seat that has fallen vacant after Keshav Prasad Maurya became Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

A victory in Phulpur would not just help to resurrect Ms. Mayawati’s sagging career, but come as a big boost to the Opposition caucus that is working to coalesce as many parties as possible to take on the BJP.


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