BSP’s third Brahmin pitch this year: Why Mayawati is returning to the 2007 playbook

Underlining the main plank of her strategy for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati has reached out to the Brahmin community for the third time this year, in an apparent attempt to revive the Dalit-Brahmin social coalition that helped her party form government in 2007.

In a series of posts on X on Monday, Mayawati claimed the BSP’s decision to accommodate upper-caste communities, particularly Brahmins, in its selection process for candidates has unsettled the rival parties.

बहुजन समाज पार्टी ने उत्तर प्रदेश में आगामी विधानसभा आमचुनाव की तैयारियों के मद्देनज़र जब से अपरकास्ट समाज और उसमें से ख़ासकर ब्राह्मण समाज को, उनके बी.एस.पी. में जुड़ने को ध्यान में रखकर, पार्टी का उम्मीदवार बनाना शुरू कर दिया है, तब से सभी विरोधी पार्टियों में व ख़ासकर समाजवादी…

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) June 22, 2026

“Ever since the BSP started selecting candidates keeping in mind the participation of upper-caste communities, especially Brahmins, there is a visible restlessness among the Opposition parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party,” she wrote in Hindi.

Recalling BSP’s last major electoral victory in the UP polls, she added, “Jo ki san 2007 ki tarah Brahman samaj ke yogdan se BSP ko poorn bahumat ki sarkar banane jaisa hi is baar ke aagami chunav parinaam ke repeat hone ki sambhavna ke tahat swabhavik hi prateet hota hai (This naturally suggests the possibility of a repeat of the 2007 election result, when the BSP formed a majority government with the contribution of the Brahmin community).”

“The Brahmin community’s interests are secure only in the BSP,” she added.

BSP’s Third Outreach This Year

Mayawati’s latest appeal follows the BJP’s Cabinet expansion last month, which sought caste balance by including OBC, Dalit, and Brahmin leaders ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.

The remarks are significant not only because they directly target a community that has largely backed the BJP over the past decade, but also because they represent the BSP chief’s third major attempt this year to woo Brahmins.

In January, in her address on her birthday, Mayawati had sought to remind voters of the political importance and representation Brahmins enjoyed during the BSP governments.

She had also alleged that the community was facing neglect under the BJP.

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The outreach intensified last month following the state Cabinet expansion, when the BJP sought to achieve caste balance by inducting leaders from OBC, Dalit, and Brahmin communities ahead of the 2027 elections.

Referring to an attack on a BJP youth leader from the Brahmin community in Lucknow, she had said, “Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh are not only neglected but also quite insecure, which is extremely worrying.”

She also cited concerns allegedly raised by legislators from across parties.

“During the winter session of the UP Assembly, not only BJP but also Brahmin MLAs from the SP and Congress came together in Lucknow and expressed concern over the neglect of the community and crimes against them.”

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Taken together, the three interventions reveal a consistent political message. Mayawati is attempting to build a narrative that, despite the BJP’s dominance among upper castes, sections of Brahmins feel increasingly neglected, insecure, and politically marginalised.

For a party that has been reduced to a single MLA in the Assembly and has no MP from the state, the strategy also reflects political necessity. Rebuilding a broader social coalition remains crucial for the party, and the party appears to believe that Brahmins could once again serve as the bridge between its core support base and other communities.

The challenge, however, is different from what it was nearly two decades ago. The BJP has since consolidated substantial support among Brahmins while expanding its reach among non-Yadav OBCs and sections of Dalits.