LUCKNOW, Oct. 2 -- Trying to prove her point in terms of mobilisation in the run-up to the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president Mayawati has planned a mega event on party founder Kanshi Ram's 19th death anniversary in Lucknow on October 9 to showcase the party's mass connect despite a decade of electoral setbacks for the party. The Manywar Shri Kanshiram Sahab ji Smarak Sthal on Old Jail Road will be the venue of the programme that will see Mayawati move out of political hibernation after a long time to address a big gathering. Though it is not billed as a rally, Mayawati has not organised such a big event in the state capital since 2016. The programme is important for the BSP, which has steadily lost ground in Uttar Pradesh politics since 2014. A senior functionary said that the party has formed an organising committee of senior leaders to manage preparations for the event. He said the committee comprises the party's national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, state unit president Vishwanath Pal and other senior functionaries like Mewa Lal, Mungad Ali and Girish Chandra Jatav. He said the programme will be the party's first mega event after its statewide organisational revamp, which saw Mayawati constituting committees at every level, from booths to districts. "To draw a massive crowd to the event, the party functionaries are holding meetings in districts, informing the voters and supporters about the upcoming event. The party is expecting over 4-5 lakh people to visit the event to pay their homage to Manywar Kanshiram," he stated. "At a state level meeting held on September 7, Behenji (Mayawati) had given specific directions to make the event successful and motivate people who believe in Manywar Kanshiram's policies to reach Lucknow." BSP state president Vishwanath Pal said party functionaries are already working on the ground to motivate followers of Kanshi Ram to reach Lucknow for the event. He said this exercise is being carried out in every district and he himself is carrying out a campaign to make the event successful. He hinted that the event is going to be a mega one. He also said a larger percentage of people in the state come from backward and Dalit communities and they are likely to turn up to pay homage to Kanshiram in Lucknow. "Jiski Jitni Sankhya Bhaari, Uski Utni Bhagidaari (The greater the number, the greater the participation). No political party is capable of mobilising masses as the BSP is," Pal emphasised. Another party functionary said the BSP aims to strengthen its position in the 2027 Assembly elections and the October 9 mass gathering will allow Mayawati to send a message to her core voters and introduce her nephew Akash Anand, recently elevated as national convenor, as the party's second-in-command. He said this gathering is part of the party's long-term plan to revive its vote percentage and recreate the alliance that worked in its favour in 2007 when the party came into power with a full majority in Uttar Pradesh. The event aims to strengthen the party's organization, energize its workers, and send a message to the voters, he said. The October 9 show will be a crucial test of the party's strength and Mayawati's leadership. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, its vote share dropped to 9.39% from 19.42% in 2019, and the party failed to win a single seat. The BSP is facing increasing competition for the Dalit vote bank from other parties, including Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party (ASP). Azad won the Nagina Lok Sabha seat in 2024....