UP election result: How Mayawati's Elephant shrunk

The elephant has shrunken further in Uttar Pradesh. With just 19 seats in her kitty, the experts suggest that the game for former CM Mayawati may just be over. Despite the first mover advantage, Maywati could not rake in the numbers and after the results were declared accused that the EVMs had been tampered with.

She is 61, and has not appointed a successor as yet. Age is catching up on Mayawati and it may be difficult for her to bounce back in the next elections, unless something dramatic happens. Experts feel that she may have to go in for a grand alliance like the Janata Dal-United did in Bihar.

It would be interesting to see how much the BSP polled in terms of percentage. In the 2014 elections, the BSP polled 20 per cent and if she has retained the number in this election as well, then it would not be fair to write her off.

However going by the manner in which the people have polled, it becomes clear that her Muslim and upper caste-backwards vote bank has been breached. Mayawati feels that the BJP has eaten into her backward vote bank. If this is accurate, then her vote percentage may have dropped below the 20 per cent mark.

The other challenge before Mayawati is to keeping her flock together. Staying out of power for so long often can be difficult and many in the BSP are bound to look towards other parties. Mayawati has a tough task ahead to keep the BSP united and her workers motivated.

OneIndia News