Election Results: Only statues proclaim Mayawati, not Uttar Pradesh voters

NEW DELHI: Mayawati got wedged between the gale of BJP's communal polarisation and Samajwadi Party's state power, factors that pushed her from being a strong aggregator of caste groups to a weak magnet for surcharged religious emotions.

The complete wipe-out of BSP in an election that was seen as handed to it on a platter raises fears of an existential crisis, given that the new player -Narendra Modi- has plans to build on his gains in UP.

With near-mythical association with 'elephant', the Dalits have this time swung for the saffron party in good numbers, a scary prospect for Mayawati.

It is a dangerous trend in identity politics if the committed-engaged votes willingly take the rival's bait. Mayawati may have to ponder hard on what can make or compel the section of Dalits who have deserted her to return home. Dalits are not just aspirational but are also Hindus, vulnerable to Modi's Hindutva strongman image.

Not a force in Western UP, a BSP turf, the BJP went on to sweep the region largely because Muzaffarnagar riots laid the ground for it to carry out its religious engineering. If the party swept the East, another BSP turf, it can also be explained by the distinct Hindutva sentiment that the region has a taste for.

Two years of Akhilesh Yadav government has littered the state with communal flashpoints and they came back to haunt both SP and BSP.

The 2014 election was for Mayawati a chance to get one up on Mulayam Singh Yadav after his massive victory in the 2012 assembly polls.

In the run-up to the polls, the Dalit czarina was expected to be a strong bait for the Muslims, angry with the ruling Samjawadi Party for Muzaffarnagar riots. It was expected to add to her rock solid Dalit votebank and caste engineering with Brahmins.

But the LS polls did not pan out as anticipated. It was beyond Mayawati's control. She performs the best when social blocs behave as castes and not Hindus, and her solid Dalit base makes BSP attractive for other communities to rally around it.

Now, Mayawati's hopes lie in breaking down the Hindu bloc into caste groups- a big ask with Modi walking the turf.