The BSP’s vote: 2.1% of the Lok Sabha vote in 1989, 6.2% in 2009 and 2.1% in 2024; in Uttar Pradesh’s assembly, 30.4% at its peak in 2007

Back to the piece

What this shows

The Bahujan Samaj Party’s seats and share of the vote at each Lok Sabha election, India-wide and by State, and at each Uttar Pradesh assembly election, from ECI’s own reports.

What it does not show: Where the BSP’s voters went, or the caste of any voter or candidate: ECI counts votes by seat and records no voter’s caste.

Sources

Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 1989, Votes polled by parties: national summary; votes polled by parties in States/UTs. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 1991, Votes polled by parties: national summary; votes polled by parties in States/UTs. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 1996, Votes polled by parties: national summary; votes polled by parties in States/UTs. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 1998, Votes polled by parties: national summary; votes polled by parties in States/UTs. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 1999, Votes polled by parties: national summary; votes polled by parties in States/UTs. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2004, Votes polled by parties: national summary; votes polled by parties in States/UTs. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2009: “CONSTITUENCY WISE DETAILED RESULTS”, Constituency wise detailed result, added up by State. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2009: “PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL PARTIES”. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2014: “PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL PARTIES”. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2014: “Party Wise Seat Won & Valid Votes Polled in Each State”. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2019: “PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL PARTIES”. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2019: “CONSTITUENCY WISE DETAILED RESULT”, Constituency wise detailed result, added up by State. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2024: “PERFORMANCE OF NATIONAL PARTY”. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Lok Sabha, 2024: “CONSTITUENCY WISE DETAILED RESULT”, Constituency wise detailed result, added up by State. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 1989, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 1991, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 1993, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 1996, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 2002, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 2007, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 2012, Performance of political parties. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 2017: “Performance Of Political Parties”. Primary source.
Election Commission of India, Statistical report, general election to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, 2022: “Performance of Political Parties”. Primary source.

Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

Read these with the numbers

Who the BSP’s voters went on to vote for cannot be shown. ECI counts votes seat by seat, not which voters switched, and the surveys that ask voters cannot be republished here.
Every figure is as ECI’s statistical reports print it. ECI says the reports are compiled from the index cards of the Returning Officers, the officials who conduct the election in each constituency, and that the statutory forms kept by the Returning Officers are final where they differ.
ECI’s report for 1984 does not list the Bahujan Samaj Party, so that year has no Lok Sabha figure; it is not shown as zero.
ECI’s report for 1985 does not list the Bahujan Samaj Party, so that year has no assembly figure; it is not shown as zero.
ECI’s 2024 reports cover 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats; ECI says the others were left out because their elections were unopposed, so no votes were cast there.
Constituencies were redrawn under the Delimitation Order, 2008, so seats before and after it are not like for like. Seats contested, won and forfeited are counts of the party’s candidates, not of all seats.

Key terms

BSP: The Bahujan Samaj Party, as ECI lists it.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of India’s Parliament, elected at general elections.
Share of the vote: The party’s votes as a share of all valid votes polled in the area, as ECI works it out.
Deposit forfeited: A candidate who lost the security deposit paid to stand, as ECI counts them.

Changelog and corrections

Version 1: First version: 23 ECI reports, Lok Sabha 1989 to 2024 and Uttar Pradesh assembly 1989 to 2022.

How corrections work. Every change is listed here.

Cite this

The Dalit Project, “The BSP’s vote: 2.1% of the Lok Sabha vote in 1989, 6.2% in 2009 and 2.1% in 2024; in Uttar Pradesh’s assembly, 30.4% at its peak in 2007”, version 1, data.dalitproject.org/bsp-vote/, as on 11 Oct 2026.