Kanshi Ram's Legacy: A Bharat Ratna Bid Amidst BSP's Decline
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On June 3, 1995, Mayawati was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister following the collapse of the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) coalition. Kanshi Ram, the BSP founder, told HT soon after that he wished to make Mayawati the Prime Minister. He said that by choosing her to head the BSP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, he was training her for the country’s top role.
Kanshi Ram saw himself only as a mentor. An enigmatic leader, Kanshi Ram expected a fractured verdict in the 1996 national polls and saw an opportunity to replicate his 1995 experiment in New Delhi, as all major parties appeared keen to work with his burgeoning Dalit party.
Ahead of the 2027 assembly polls, calls are growing to bestow India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, on Kanshi Ram, even as his dream of Mayawati becoming Prime Minister appears distant. The BSP’s support base has since eroded significantly. It won just one seat in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly in 2022.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been among those who have called for Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram in an ironic turn of events. Kanshi Ram, known for his abrasive style, described Congress and BJP as enemies number one and two, likening them to snake charmers.
The BJP-led Union government has previously awarded Bharat Ratna to Chaudhary Charan Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav, who opposed its Hindutva politics. The BJP hopes to woo Dalit voters back even as Jatavs, the core BSP supporters, remain hopeful of the BSP’s revival.
