India, Aug. 7 -- The death of Uma Shankar Singh, the lone Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, from Rasra in Ballia district, marks a watershed moment in Indian politics. For the first time since 1989, the Uttar Pradesh assembly will not have a BSP MLA. Come November 2026 and BSP's only Rajya Sabha MP will also retire, leaving it without representation in the parliament as well. BSP, as a political party, occupies an important political place in India's democratic history. It is the only party to have given India a Dalit chief minister (Mayawati) who completed a full-term in office, and that too in India's largest state, Uttar Pradesh. BSP's contribution to Indian democracy extends beyond just its stint in governme...