How Mayawati’s Opportunistic Alliances Helped Re-strengthen BJP–Hindutva and Confused Dalits

 

How Mayawati’s Opportunistic Alliances Helped Re-strengthen BJP–Hindutva and Confused Dalits

SR Darapuri, National President, All India Peoples Front

Mayawati’s political career represents a paradox in contemporary Dalit politics. On the one hand, she symbolized unprecedented Dalit political power; on the other, her opportunistic alliances—especially with the BJP—produced long-term ideological and political consequences that strengthened Hindutva and disoriented Dalit political consciousness.

While these alliances were often justified as tactical necessities for governance, they normalized collaboration between Dalit leadership and a political ideology fundamentally hostile to Ambedkarite values. This brief argues that Mayawati’s coalition politics unintentionally helped legitimize BJP–Hindutva, fragmented Dalit resistance, and created deep confusion about the political and moral direction of Dalit emancipation.

1. Normalization of BJP as a “Legitimate Partner” for Dalit Politics

1.1 Breaking the Anti-Brahmanical Political Consensus

Historically, Ambedkarite politics viewed Brahmanism and majoritarian Hindu nationalism as structural enemies of Dalit liberation. Mayawati’s repeated alliances with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh (1995, 1997, 2002) broke this moral boundary.

By treating the BJP as a negotiable partner rather than an ideological adversary: Hindutva was normalized within Dalit political imagination, Anti-caste resistance was reduced to bargaining and as such the BJP gained legitimacy among sections of Dalits as “non-hostile.”                       This legitimization was a major ideological gain for Hindutva.

1.2 Moral Laundering of Hindutva Through Dalit Leadership

When a Dalit-led party governed in alliance with the BJP, it allowed Hindutva forces to claim: Inclusivity, Social justice credentials and Distance from caste oppression.

This “moral laundering” diluted critiques of Hindutva as an upper-caste project and helped the BJP project itself as compatible with Dalit aspirations, despite its ideological roots in Manusmriti-friendly traditions.

2. Weakening of Ideological Resistance to Hindutva

2.1 From Ideological Opposition to Tactical Silence

During alliance periods, the BSP muted criticism of: Hindu majoritarianism, RSS ideology, Attacks on minorities and Cultural homogenization.

This silence had two effects: It weakened Dalit–minority solidarity and it normalized Hindutva discourse in the public sphere.

Hindutva thrives not only on support but also on the absence of principled opposition.

2.2 Dilution of Ambedkar’s Anti-Hindu Orthodoxy

Ambedkar’s critique of Hinduism was radical and uncompromising. Mayawati’s alliances required softening this critique to avoid antagonizing BJP partners and Hindu voters.

Consequently: Ambedkar was projected mainly as a constitutionalist, not a religious dissenter. His Buddhist turn was sidelined. His critique of Brahmanism was depoliticized.

This ideological dilution indirectly strengthened Hindutva’s cultural hegemony.

3. Fragmentation and Confusion Within the Dalit Community

3.1 Contradictory Political Messaging

Dalits were told simultaneously that: the BJP was historically oppressive, the BJP was a necessary ally and the BJP could be trusted for governance.

This contradiction confused political consciousness, especially among younger Dalits. Politics appeared not as a moral struggle but as opportunistic deal-making.

3.2 Decline of Ideological Education

Under Mayawati, Dalit political mobilization relied more on: Electoral appeals, welfare distribution, symbolic assertion and less on: Ambedkarite education, political literacy, and ideological training.

Without ideological grounding, many Dalits: Drifted toward BJP narratives, adopted Hindutva symbolism and became vulnerable to cultural co-optation.

3.3 Electoral Demoralization

When Mayawati alternated between opposing and supporting the BJP, Dalit voters experienced: Disillusionment, Cynicism, and political fatigue.

This demoralization reduced long-term loyalty to Ambedkarite politics and made Dalits more open to BJP’s direct outreach through welfare populism and identity engineering.

4. Strategic Benefits for BJP–Hindutva

4.1 Time and Space to Expand Among Dalits

Mayawati’s alliances gave the BJP: administrative legitimacy, political breathing space, and time to build Dalit outreach programs.

During and after these alliances, the BJP expanded:  Dalit wings, appropriation of Ambedkar symbols and welfare-based Dalit engagement.

Once the BJP no longer needed BSP support, it absorbed sections of the Dalit vote independently.

4.2 Undermining Dalit–Minority Unity

BSP’s alignment with BJP weakened Dalit–Muslim political solidarity, historically crucial in UP.

This fragmentation: helped BJP consolidate Hindu votes across caste lines, reduced the effectiveness of anti-majoritarian coalitions and enabled Hindutva’s “pan-Hindu” narrative.

4.3 Reinforcing the BJP’s Pragmatic Image

By cooperating with a Dalit-led party, BJP projected itself as: flexible, development-oriented and post-caste.

This image was crucial in expanding its base beyond traditional upper-caste supporters and consolidating power nationally.

5. Long-Term Consequences for Dalit Politics

5.1 Ideological Disarmament

Repeated opportunism weakened the moral clarity of Dalit politics. Ambedkarism was reduced to: electoral symbolism, personality-centric loyalty, and welfare-based bargaining.

Without ideological sharpness, resistance to Hindutva became shallow and inconsistent.

5.2 Collapse of BSP as an Ideological Alternative

When BSP declined electorally, it left behind: no strong ideological institutions, no mass social movement and no cohesive counter-narrative to Hindutva.

This vacuum was filled rapidly by the BJP.

5.3 Shift of Dalit Youth Away from BSP

Disillusioned Dalit youth increasingly turned to: student movements, rights-based activism, new Ambedkarite formations and often explicitly critical of BSP’s alliance politics.

Conclusion

Mayawati’s opportunistic alliances—particularly with the BJP—were not merely tactical missteps; they had structural ideological consequences. By normalizing Hindutva as a political partner, diluting Ambedkarite critique, and confusing Dalit political consciousness, these alliances indirectly helped re-strengthen BJP–Hindutva.

While Mayawati achieved short-term political power, the long-term cost was high: Dalit ideological resistance weakened, Hindutva gained legitimacy and space and Dalit politics lost moral and strategic clarity.

Ambedkar warned that political power without moral and ideological independence leads to subordination. Mayawati’s alliances tragically validated this warning. For Dalit emancipation to regain strength, politics must once again be rooted in principle, ideology, and ethical opposition to caste-Hindu dominance, rather than opportunistic arithmetic.