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Lucknow, May 11: It has been a rugged yet eventful road to successfor teacher-turned-politician Mayawati, who is expected to assume theoffice of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for the fourth time.
Significantly, she will also create the record of being the firstwoman in UP to get the prestigious post as many as four times. She wasalso the first Dalit woman to don the UP CM's mantle the first time 12years ago.
Known for her different style of functioning, Mayawati, popularlyreferred to as 'behenji', has been the leading light of the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), a party which has steadily climbed the ladder ofsuccess becoming a political force to reckon with in the Hindiheartland.
However, the death of her mentor and BSP founder Kanshi Ram lastyear dealt a body blow to the party, but Mayawati, who was accused inseveral scams during her last regime, put behind all the odds to leadthe party to success in the assembly polls.
The new social engineering of Dalit-Brahmim combination for thefirst time in UP politics floated by her achieved a clear distinctionand defeated all competing combinations and permutations.
The modern-day champion of Dalit rights, Mayawati was born onJanuary 15,1956 in Delhi where her father Prabhudayal was employed as asupervisor with the Post and Telegraph department. However, the familytraces its roots to Baadalpur Village of the then Bulandshahar and nowGhaziabad district of UP.
The BSP president did a major part of her education in Delhi.
She did BA and LLB from Kalindi College of Delhi University andlater took a B Ed degree from DU itself. During student life, Mayawatiwas an active participant in several debate competitions and studentmovements where she always lent a strong voice to the problems andconcerns of the weak and downdtrodden section of society.
Between 1977 and 1984, Mayawati taught at various schools run by theDelhi administration. But following her passionate zeal to work for theuplift of the downtrodden, she left the teaching profession midway in1984 and subsequently came in the company of her 'political mentor'Kanshiram. That year itself, she became part of a non-political outfitBackward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) andlater attached herself to DS-4, another organisation set up to lookafter the interests of Dalits and Backwards.
With establishment of BSP on April 14, 1984 began the actualpolitical career of Mayawati. As a BSP candidate, she contested herfirst Lok Sabha elections from Kairana (Muzaffarnagar) seat in 1984 butcould not win. She then contested the Lok Sabha by-elections to Bijnourand Haridwar in 1985 and 1987 respectively.
She stood second with 1.39 lakh votes in the Hardwar by-elections.
She was finally elected to the lower House the first time in 1989from the Bijnor seat. In 1994, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha fromUttar Pradesh.
Her party supported the Samajwadi Party (SP) in governmentformation in UP during 1993. But with time, their relations became sourand the high-point of the mutual recrimination was reached when a fatalattack was allegedly made by SP-sponsored ''goons'' on Mayawati at thestate guest house in Lucknow on June 2, 1995.
A vocal critic of ''manuwadi forces'', Mayawati, however, escapedunhurt in the attack and became the Chief Minister of UP for the firsttime with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on June 3, 1995.However, she stayed in the post only till October of that year as thepolitical alliance between the BSP and BJP came to an abrupt end.
The story of her political success continued further as she was electedboth from Bilsi (Badaun) and Haraura (Saharanpur) seats during the 1996UP assembly elections. She later resigned the Bilsi seat and retainedthe other. Soon was forged a new political marriage' between the BSPand the saffron power BJP which resulted in a unique governmentformation in 1997 with an agreement that both parties will have its ownCM by rotation for six months each. Under the deal, she was sworn in asCM on March 21,1997 earning the distinction of becoming a woman CM ofthe state twice.
But after the end of her six-month tenure, the BJP-BSP alliance,too, fizzled out. Mayawati had withdrawn support from the coalitiongovernment, saying the Dalit Act had not been properly implemented.
It was during this stand-off between the two parties that theinfamous brickbatting case inside the UP assembly took place on October18,1997.
The BSP leader, who is said to be leading an all-in-one personshow in the party, won both the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections fromthe Akbarpur (reserved) seat in Ambedkarnagar district.
Writing off all her critics, Mawayati came out with flying coloursin the recently-held state assembly elections owing to her tactfuldistribution of tickets. She herself was elected from Haraura(Saharanpur) and Jahangirganj (Ambedkarnagar) after which she resignedfrom her membership of the Lok Sabha. She later abandoned theJahangirganj seat.
Her third tenure started on May 3,2002 but abruptly ended on July25,2003 after the Taj Heritage Corridor (THC) scam surfaced at Agra anda CBI probe was ordered by the Supreme Court. Later, the SC alsoordered a probe into the alleged disproprionate assets of Mayawati andher family members.
She also successfully contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2004 andwon the Ambedkarngar seat but later in 2005 she resigned and gotelected to Rajya Sabha.
After she relinquished the CM post, Ms Mayawati was once again inthe limelight when a legal battle was fought against her by the familymembers of the late Kanshi Ram, who was admitted to hospital.
While the family members wanted to take away Kanshi Ram from her,but she continued to look after her mentor and even did not allow themto take away his body after death.
Mayawati is especially remembered for getting constructed thesprawling Ambedkar Park and Parivartan chowk in Lucknow and startingthe Ambedkar Gram Vikas yojna during her previous tenures as the Cm.However, she is also recalled with apprehension by some in the mediaand bureaucratic circles who describe her as ''dictatorial andwhimsical in nature''.
Notwithstanding the past, Mayawati, with the reins of UP onceagain in her hands, faces an uphill task of ensuring the much-wantedpolitical stability and sustainable development in the state.
UNI
Significantly, she will also create the record of being the firstwoman in UP to get the prestigious post as many as four times. She wasalso the first Dalit woman to don the UP CM's mantle the first time 12years ago.
Known for her different style of functioning, Mayawati, popularlyreferred to as 'behenji', has been the leading light of the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), a party which has steadily climbed the ladder ofsuccess becoming a political force to reckon with in the Hindiheartland.
However, the death of her mentor and BSP founder Kanshi Ram lastyear dealt a body blow to the party, but Mayawati, who was accused inseveral scams during her last regime, put behind all the odds to leadthe party to success in the assembly polls.
The new social engineering of Dalit-Brahmim combination for thefirst time in UP politics floated by her achieved a clear distinctionand defeated all competing combinations and permutations.
The modern-day champion of Dalit rights, Mayawati was born onJanuary 15,1956 in Delhi where her father Prabhudayal was employed as asupervisor with the Post and Telegraph department. However, the familytraces its roots to Baadalpur Village of the then Bulandshahar and nowGhaziabad district of UP.
The BSP president did a major part of her education in Delhi.
She did BA and LLB from Kalindi College of Delhi University andlater took a B Ed degree from DU itself. During student life, Mayawatiwas an active participant in several debate competitions and studentmovements where she always lent a strong voice to the problems andconcerns of the weak and downdtrodden section of society.
Between 1977 and 1984, Mayawati taught at various schools run by theDelhi administration. But following her passionate zeal to work for theuplift of the downtrodden, she left the teaching profession midway in1984 and subsequently came in the company of her 'political mentor'Kanshiram. That year itself, she became part of a non-political outfitBackward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) andlater attached herself to DS-4, another organisation set up to lookafter the interests of Dalits and Backwards.
With establishment of BSP on April 14, 1984 began the actualpolitical career of Mayawati. As a BSP candidate, she contested herfirst Lok Sabha elections from Kairana (Muzaffarnagar) seat in 1984 butcould not win. She then contested the Lok Sabha by-elections to Bijnourand Haridwar in 1985 and 1987 respectively.
She stood second with 1.39 lakh votes in the Hardwar by-elections.
She was finally elected to the lower House the first time in 1989from the Bijnor seat. In 1994, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha fromUttar Pradesh.
Her party supported the Samajwadi Party (SP) in governmentformation in UP during 1993. But with time, their relations became sourand the high-point of the mutual recrimination was reached when a fatalattack was allegedly made by SP-sponsored ''goons'' on Mayawati at thestate guest house in Lucknow on June 2, 1995.
A vocal critic of ''manuwadi forces'', Mayawati, however, escapedunhurt in the attack and became the Chief Minister of UP for the firsttime with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on June 3, 1995.However, she stayed in the post only till October of that year as thepolitical alliance between the BSP and BJP came to an abrupt end.
The story of her political success continued further as she was electedboth from Bilsi (Badaun) and Haraura (Saharanpur) seats during the 1996UP assembly elections. She later resigned the Bilsi seat and retainedthe other. Soon was forged a new political marriage' between the BSPand the saffron power BJP which resulted in a unique governmentformation in 1997 with an agreement that both parties will have its ownCM by rotation for six months each. Under the deal, she was sworn in asCM on March 21,1997 earning the distinction of becoming a woman CM ofthe state twice.
But after the end of her six-month tenure, the BJP-BSP alliance,too, fizzled out. Mayawati had withdrawn support from the coalitiongovernment, saying the Dalit Act had not been properly implemented.
It was during this stand-off between the two parties that theinfamous brickbatting case inside the UP assembly took place on October18,1997.
The BSP leader, who is said to be leading an all-in-one personshow in the party, won both the 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections fromthe Akbarpur (reserved) seat in Ambedkarnagar district.
Writing off all her critics, Mawayati came out with flying coloursin the recently-held state assembly elections owing to her tactfuldistribution of tickets. She herself was elected from Haraura(Saharanpur) and Jahangirganj (Ambedkarnagar) after which she resignedfrom her membership of the Lok Sabha. She later abandoned theJahangirganj seat.
Her third tenure started on May 3,2002 but abruptly ended on July25,2003 after the Taj Heritage Corridor (THC) scam surfaced at Agra anda CBI probe was ordered by the Supreme Court. Later, the SC alsoordered a probe into the alleged disproprionate assets of Mayawati andher family members.
She also successfully contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2004 andwon the Ambedkarngar seat but later in 2005 she resigned and gotelected to Rajya Sabha.
After she relinquished the CM post, Ms Mayawati was once again inthe limelight when a legal battle was fought against her by the familymembers of the late Kanshi Ram, who was admitted to hospital.
While the family members wanted to take away Kanshi Ram from her,but she continued to look after her mentor and even did not allow themto take away his body after death.
Mayawati is especially remembered for getting constructed thesprawling Ambedkar Park and Parivartan chowk in Lucknow and startingthe Ambedkar Gram Vikas yojna during her previous tenures as the Cm.However, she is also recalled with apprehension by some in the mediaand bureaucratic circles who describe her as ''dictatorial andwhimsical in nature''.
Notwithstanding the past, Mayawati, with the reins of UP onceagain in her hands, faces an uphill task of ensuring the much-wantedpolitical stability and sustainable development in the state.
UNI
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