Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is staring the prospect of losing its national party status, given its poor performance in the recently held Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The party failed to win any seats in the elections and its vote share came down to about 2.04 per cent.
The BSP is the only national-level Dalit party in the country. It could lose its national party status once the Election Commission of India carries out its review.
Six National Political Parties
Six political parties recognised as national parties by the election commission at present. These are the BJP, the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the National People’s Party, the CPM and the BSP.
The BSP was founded by Kanshi Ram in April 1984. Kanshi Ram later named Mayawati his successor. The BSP was recognised as a national party in 1997. However, the party saw a decline in its electoral performance after the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
As per the rules in Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, a party gets national status if it polled at least 6 per cent of the total valid votes in four or more states in the last general election and at least four MPs.
A party can also get a national status if it wins at least 2 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha and the winners are from at least three states. The third condition for attaining a national party status is that it has to be a recognised state party in at least four states.
Declining Performance
The BSP couldn’t win any seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It won ten seats in 2019 general election. The party’s vote share also went down to 2.04 per cent, as per poll panel website.
The party had fielded candidates in 424 Lok Sabha seats, including 80 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. In 2019, the BSP’s vote share was 3.67 per cent. In 2009, the BSP won 21 seats with a vote share of 6.17 per cent. In 2014 it did not win any seats seats and polled 4.19 per cent votes.
For now, it seems that the BSP doesn’t fulfil the first two criteria for retaining its national party status, according to a report in the Indian Express. And for the third criterion, the party has to meet the conditions for being a recognised state party in four or more states, which it also does not meet as of now.
The poll panel is expected to start the review process after the statistical reports of the 2024 elections are published, the Indian Express report said.
Not the first time
Earlier too, the BSP’s national party status was at risk. In 2014, it almost lost its national party status. An amendment in the rules by poll panel saved it. From a review each five year, the new rules made a review once in ten years.
A national party avails many benefits. Apart from a common election symbol, a national party also gets accommodation for an office in Delhi, free copies of the electoral roll and airtime on Doordarshan and All-India Radio during elections, among other benefits.