Lucknow, India — The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party once dominated the political landscape of Uttar Pradesh – each representing specific caste groups and with core supporters.
The former counts on the Yadav community, who form roughly 9 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s population and are recognised as Other Backward Classes (OBC), a term that refers to lesser privileged social groups. For the BSP, it is the Jatavs, a social group within the Dalits, who are broadly classified as the Scheduled Castes in the Indian constitution to make them eligible for various affirmative action programmes launched by the government. The Jatavs are about 10 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s population.
To a large extent, the SP, and to a more limited extent, the BSP, also count on Muslims, who constitute nearly one-fifth of the state’s population. The SP has been known for its MY – Muslim Yadav – caste combination.
But both parties — which between them ruled Uttar Pradesh for most of the three decades from the late 1980s until 2017 — were largely missing in action during the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
As results come in, how they perform could determine their very future.
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David Turner is a globe-trotting journalist who brings a global perspective to our readers. With a commitment to shedding light on international events, he explores complex geopolitical issues, offering a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
