Question

The main base of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is ____
A.Madhya Pradesh
B.Punjab
C. Uttar Pradesh
D.Delhi

Answer 1

Hint:The Bahujan Samaj Party was founded in April 1984. It was formed in order to represent the Bahujan Samaj - scheduled caste, schedule tribe and other backward classes. It’s most specific stand is the opposition to the caste inequalities existing in India.

Complete answer:
The BSP was founded by Kanshi Ram, a Dalit and civil service worker. He spurred into pro-Dalit activism in the 1960s after reading Ambedkar’s writings and facing caste inequalities on a personal level. He was then succeeded by Mayawati in 2003. She formed a very strong base in India’s most populous state- Uttar Pradesh.
In 1993 assembly elections, Mayawati formed a coalition with President of Samajwadi Party Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister. On 2 June 1995, she declared that she had decided to withdraw support from his government. This led to a very controversial incident where the Yadav was accused of sending his goons to keep party legislators of BSP as hostages at a Lucknow guest house and accused him of hurling casteist abuses at her.
In 1995, she decided to bag the support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become Chief Minister. In October 1995, the BJP then withdrew its support. Soon, elections were called after a period of President's Rule. In 2003, Mayawati resigned from her own government because she wanted to prove that she was not ‘hungry for power.’ Ultimately, in May 2007 UP elections, she managed to become the Chief Minister for a full term.
Based on the aforementioned information, the correct answer is Option C.

Hence, the correct answer is option (C).

Note:The BSP’s administration later came to be known for corruption, self-aggrandizement (including the installation of hundreds of statues of Mayawati and other BSP figures across the state), and many financial scandals which led to the BSP’s downfall in the 2012 state assembly elections.