New Delhi, Dec. 20: Mayavati’s “blunders” are troubling the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as Uttar Pradesh gets ready for Assembly elections early next year.

The party’s leaders feel the BSP is no longer able to make the kind of inroads it was managing to even six months ago, when the Lucknow throne seemed well within reach. While the ruling Samajwadi Party is losing ground, the BSP, which as the main Opposition should be upbeat, also appears to be faltering.

Although no one in the BSP is ready to say this aloud, in private conversations partymen are blaming Mayavati’s four big blunders.

According to BSP leaders, Mayavati’s first mistake was the premature announcement of a list of nearly 200 candidates around six months ago.

It was initially seen as a calculated move to win over new social groups and legislators defecting from the Samajwadi Party and the BJP.

The BSP chief’s tactical step, however, backfired. “The announcement of such a large number of candidates so early created a lot of detractors within the party. It also gave ample time and scope to the Opposition parties to spread the rumour that the distribution of party tickets involved huge cash transactions,” a senior BSP leader said.

Party leaders also feel that the decision not to contest recent local body polls was a mistake.

“The decision came as a blow to the political aspirations of a large number of local leaders. The waning of enthusiasm of these local leaders could have a cascading effect on the rank and file of the party,” they said.

Mayavati compounded the mistake when she boasted that she had shifted her party’s votes in favour of either the BJP or the Congress to ensure the defeat of the Samajwadis.

“By doing so, Mayavati sowed the seeds of confusion in the minds of a large number of neutral voters who were till then favourably disposed in favour of the BSP. This miscalculation arrested the broadening of the vote base of the party,” a BSP leader said.

The last nail was the BSP chief’s description of Muslims as “fundamentalists”. Even her subsequent retreat — she said she was misquoted — has not been able to undo the damage.

“Earlier, there was a feeling in the party that it had succeeded in winning over the alienated and disadvantaged minorities. We can not say this with equal confidence now,” a senior BSP leader said.