With the Samajwadi Party (SP) having cornered significant Dalit votes in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, contributing to the BJP’s diminished tally of 33 seats in the state – down from the 62 it won in 2019 – ally Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is preparing to come to the rescue as a potential disruptor in the poll equation.Founded by Ram Vilas Paswan and now led by his son Union Minister Chirag Paswan, the Bihar-based LJP (RV) is making a significant push to expand its footprint in UP and contest the elections next year in a big way. Its focus: non-Jatav Dalit votes.Sources in the party said the LJP(RV) has been working on the ground for the past year, strengthening its organisation and setting up booth committees. It is focusing on Purvanchal and central UP, which house significant proportions of Pasi and Paswan populations.Party sources said the LJP(RV) already has a worker strength of more than two lakh in Purvanchal and is building a similar structure in central UP. Booth committees in these areas are expected to be in place soon.To engage with Dalits, the party has begun organising Dalit Chaupals across districts in Purvanchal and it also plans to launch padyatras followed by voter outreach campaigns through Navsankalp Mahasabhas in various districts of the state.The Navsankalp Mahasabhas were first launched in Bihar ahead of 2025 polls as the primary grassroots mobilisation engine for the party. Led by Chirag, the campaign aimed to galvanise the party’s core voter base and youth.“The Dalit community in UP is a bit wary of the BJP and hasn’t voted for it with much enthusiasm in the past. But it has no problems with us. The collapse of the BSP has opened the Dalit votebank in the state and we take this as an opportunity to expand the party’s base in UP,” a senior LJP(RV) leader said.Story continues below this adAccording to the leader, Purvanchal has a significant Pasi/Paswan population because of its proximity to Bihar, where the LJP(RV) is seen as a strong political force. These communities also have a significant presence in central UP.Also read | Premium From Yogi to Akhilesh, why every UP player is chasing the Dalit voteWestern UP, however, is dominated by Jatavs, whose loyalty continues to remain largely with the BSP. The LJP(RV) is therefore hoping to influence voter choices in regions where Jatavs are not dominant.Around 21% of UP’s population is Dalit. Of these, more than 54% are Jatavs, accounting for close to 12% of the state’s population. The Pasis are the largest Dalit community after Jatavs, accounting for around 16% of the Dalit population and roughly 3.5% of the state’s population. The category includes Paswans. Dhobi, Kori, Balmik and Khatik are among the other major Dalit communities in the state and together account for around 18% of the Dalit population, or about 3.5% of the state’s population.Looking beyond DalitsThe LJP(RV) is also looking beyond Dalits. With sections of Brahmins said to be unhappy with the Yogi Adityanath government, the party is seeking to reach out to the community as well. It has coined a slogan for the UP polls: “Pandit-Pasi-Paswan /Dharti Gunje Aasman” — a spin-off of its Bihar slogan, “Dharti Gunje Aasman, Ramvilas Paswan”.Story continues below this ad“To engage with Brahmins we are organising Chanakya Chaupals in various districts in temples,” an LJP (RV) leader said, adding that the effort was aimed at broadening the party’s social base.“In the 2024 polls, Pasis and other non-Jatav Dalits went with the SP because they had no alternative. The BSP was on the decline and the BJP had shot itself in the foot by talking about changes to the Constitution. Yadavs and Dalits are not natural allies at the social level. We are trying to emerge as an alternative,” the leader said.History not brightThe party, however, has not done well in UP historically. Its best performance came in 2002 Assembly polls when Raja Ram Pandey, contesting on its ticket, won from Gadwara seat. It also backed Independent candidate Dhananjay Singh, who won from Rari in Jaunpur. In the 2022 Assembly polls, the LJP(RV) contested independently after failing to reach an alliance with the BJP and drew a blank while securing 0.01% of the vote.“Our party’s founder did not get into UP politics with an eye on elections. His idea was to organise our people,” senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Arun Bharti told The Indian Express.Story continues below this ad“Electorally too we tasted success in the early 2000s when two of our candidates, Pandey and Singh won. In later years, due to health issues our founder could not take it forward at the pace one would have liked. That space was taken by SP and Congress leaders, much to the detriment of our people. We now want to tell our people that just as we have worked in Bihar, we will work for you. You don’t need rent-a-politicians. If you give us your vishwas (trust), you will see our prayas (effort),” he added.While Bharti did not comment on possible alliance with the BJP, a senior BJP leader said, “There are no talks of an alliance in UP with the LJP(RV) as yet. However, if Chirag’s party contests strongly, with or without us, it will help us.”Cashing in on BSP’s lossThe LJP (RV)’s enthusiasm is driven by the consistent decline of the BSP, which recorded its worst performances in decades in both the 2022 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.The BSP won just one seat in the 2022 Assembly elections, while its vote share fell to 12.88% from 22.23% in 2017. This was roughly proportionate to the population of Jatav-Ravidasi Dalits in the state. Even this core vote base appeared to weaken further in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when the BSP failed to win a single seat and its vote share dropped to 9.4%.The SP-Congress combine largely cornered these alienated votes, helping it check the BJP’s dominance in the state. The SP’s ticket distribution also appeared to have helped attract Dalit votes. Breaking with convention, the party fielded two Dalit candidates from general seats. One of them, Awadhesh Prasad, went on to win from Faizabad (which encompasses Ayodhya), just months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ram Temple. “Awadhesh ji won because of consolidation of Pasi votes in his favour,” an LJP (RV) leader said.