A politician from the poor dreams the unthinkable

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. Photo / AP

For a woman who has made a career out of her membership of the lowest rung of Indian society, the politician known only as Mayawati has some very expensive tastes.

The "queen" of the Dalits - the acceptable name for what were once the untouchables - has a particular fondness for the Oberoi, one of Delhi's most luxurious hotels, where she regularly drops in for a spot of pampering in the beauty salon.

She celebrates her birthday with lavish public parties, decking herself in diamonds and allowing her acolytes to hand-feed her cake.

She has a fleet of 12 planes and helicopters, including a Beechcraft jet she uses as her flying office, and an estimated annual income of more than $18 million.

Her life is a world away from the poverty in which most of India's 160 million Dalits subsist.

Yet far from begrudging her such luxuries, they appear to love her for it. They call her Behenji - sister - and pack into her rallies to listen to her speak.

And if the month-long Indian general election underway produces the expected stalemate between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, it is just possible that their votes will enable her to win enough seats to become the powerbroker and even, though this remains a slim possibility, allow her to demand a role she so desperately craves: that of Prime Minister of India.

What she would do with it is anyone's guess. As Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, Mayawati is perhaps better known for spending millions on parks and statues celebrating her Bahujan Samaj Party than for doing anything to change the lives of the people she governs.

More a pragmatist than an ideologue, she started in politics lambasting the upper castes, urging her supporters to hit them with their shoes, yet had no qualms about forming an alliance with the high caste Brahmins to secure her most recent electoral victory. She has not been slow to court other minorities, including Muslims and Sikhs.

But it is not her policies that make Mayawati fascinating: it is more the possibility that a Dalit, a caste associated with the most menial occupations, may finally get her hands on the top job. Forget untouchable - a few years ago, this would have been unthinkable.

Mayawati's private life is intriguing. Unmarried, she lived for many years with Kanshi Ram, the BSP president and her mentor, until his death in 2006 at the age of 72. The relationship was the subject of much speculation, though Mayawati has always insisted he was more like an older brother or father figure. Kanshi Ram, in his last interview, revealed he had been attracted to her by her coarse manner.

"I liked the way she spat and gave galis [expletives] in her speeches," he said.

At the last general election, Mayawati's BSP won just 19 seats. This time around, it is determined to do better. Her rallies are organised with military precision by her Bahujan Volunteer Force, whose members wear blue uniforms and make sure the crowd is primed for her arrival. A Swiss-made tent, with air conditioning, carpets, fresh fruit and flowers, is always available for meetings.

"Uttar Pradesh is taken, now it's Delhi's turn," she tells her supporters, though she is realistic enough to know that she cannot win on her own.

If the BSP can secure enough seats, though, she may just be able to demand the top job in return for her support in a coalition. The business community is alarmed at the prospect - "disastrous" and "catastrophic" were two of the words cited in one recent report - but no one really knows how a Mayawati premiership may turn out.

Political critics say the last thing modern India needs is a politician whose selling point is her caste. Yet even her critics say that she is a good administrator, albeit one with a tendency to micro-manage.

All that is certain is that she would embrace the opportunity with gusto.

Her record suggests it could be a short ride, but bland it would not be. Indian politics would be a livelier and more colourful place. With added diamonds.

The 'queen' of the Dalits

Born: Kumari Mayawati Das in New Delhi in 1956, the daughter of a government clerk and a housewife, members of the low-caste Hindu Jatav, or Chamar, community. She studied law, with ambitions to become a magistrate, and taught before entering politics.

Best of times: Sweeping aside the opposition to secure an outright majority in the 2007 state elections in Uttar Pradesh. The victory, secured with the support of upper-caste Brahmins, took her rivals by surprise and put her in a position where she could realistically start to think about the premiership.

Worst of times: The collapse of her previous administration amid corruption allegations over the construction of a shopping complex close to the Taj Mahal.

What she says: "We treat the sarva samaj - all castes - as equals."

What others say: "The entire political paradigm of Mayawati is based on fear, revenge and corruption. Her corruption is legendary, as is evident from the monuments she has built from Lucknow to Delhi. She should stop dreaming of becoming prime minister." - Congress Party spokesperson Manish Tewari.

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