The rise and fall of Mayawati's lieutenants
Vrinda Gopinath
First Published : 28 Oct 2009 12:02:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 28 Oct 2009 12:58:52 AM IST
It has been a tumultuous year for UP chief minister and BSP president
'Behenji' Mayawati beginning from her surprise jettison last July as
unofficial prime ministerial candidate of the Third Front and the
sudden crash of her ultimate dream in May this year. After the Lok
Sabha results were announced, it was a stunned Mayawati who went into
a huddle after she was routed in the state by none other than her bete
noire, Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party, and the Congress, which saw a
sudden rebirth. Mayawati's grand strategy of combining the
Dalit-Brahmin vote bank came a cropper.
Over the last few months Lucknow has been abuzz about the fate of
Maya's trusted strategists and confidants, a clutch of lawyers,
bureaucrats and party leaders. Mayawati's style of functioning is that
of a political warlord; her lieutenants diligently carry out
'Behenji's' commands and directives as loyal party workers. Here's a
quick guide to those who have been dumped and those who are on a dizzy
rise:
Satish Chandra Mishra: Once the all-powerful Brahmin mascot of the BSP
and Mayawati's closest confidant who is pictured always at her side,
the first sign of Mishra's ignoble slide is that he has been dumped
squarely and surely from all photo-ops. His canny political strategy
to bring the Brahmins and Dalits failed miserably in the Lok Sabha
polls; Behenji's innumerable court cases have also got the heat on
both the CM and Mishra. The last few months have seen several court
cases leaping up to taunt Maya, from her disproportionate assets case
to the contempt of court notices issued to her over the lavish and
extravagant spending on the Ambedkar parks in UP. Mishra has had no
success in getting her any relief so far. On the political side,
Mishra has not been able to mediate in Mayawati's favour with the
Centre. Today he is barely seen in the capital's power corridors.
However, Mishra's family and friends continue to enjoy the fruits of
power, from lavish properties allegedly bought by him in both Lucknow
and Delhi, to having Brahmins head dozens of important state
corporations, to even having a university named after his mother.
Mishra still controls Mayawati's vast and enormous empire.
Navneet Sehgal: It has been a dizzying rise for this bureaucrat, who
began on Behenji's wrong side when she came to power for a second time
as CM — Sehgal was then seen to be close to both Mulayam Singh Yadav
and Lalji Tandon (BJP), and he was summarily transferred out of
Lucknow on a central posting. But the dexterous Sehgal wormed his way
and is now one of the most powerful people of Maya's kitchen cabinet.
Sehgal's rise has been intoxicating — first he was appointed secretary
to the CM, then he got additional charge as secretary urban
development, chairman-cum-managing director of UP Power Corporation
Limited (UPPCL), and was later appointed chairman of UP Jal Nigam.
They are all crucial departments for handing out contracts and
memorandums of understanding for business. The tall and strapping
Sehgal is today undoubtedly voted as the most powerful bureaucrat in
Lucknow.
Akilesh Das: It must go to Sehgal's credit for engineering the entry
of former Congressman and now BSP MP from Lucknow into the party —
Sehgal was private secretary to Das when he was MoS for steel in
UPA-I, and is said to have brokered the deal for Das' entry into the
BSP. So ambitious was Mayawati to become PM in the last election, that
she agreed to give Das a ticket despite knowing that this former mayor
of Lucknow was also one of Mulayam Yadav's closest confidant. However,
Mayawati was right about one aspect — that Das was going to be the
winning candidate of Lucknow, and she was desperate to have as many
winning MPs on her side to stake claim to power at the Centre.
Shahshank Shekhar Singh: It was the most striking appointment and it
took every UP bureaucrat's breath away when Singh, a government pilot
and a non-IAS officer, was elevated as Maya's Cabinet Secretary. But
the complaints from bureaucrats led to a PIL in court and soon
Mayawati was forced to strip many of Singh's powers in the
administration. Naturally, Singh, who has made a clean image his
leitmotif, soon found himself waning in Behenji's sphere of influence,
but he continues to be one of her trusted administrators. However, his
pet projects like the mega international airport on the Agra road has
evaporated because of Maya's plunging clout in Delhi, and the Greater
Noida project limps ahead.
Naseemuddin Siddiqui: The BSP'S Muslim face is also known as the
organisation man as he carries out Behenji's election strategies at
the micro level. Today, Siddiqui has some of the most important and
lucrative portfolios like PWD, Housing, Excise and Prohibition, and he
continues to be Behenji's ear on the ground, picking up grassroots
intelligence. But he too failed to deliver the Muslims to the party in
the last election. Siddiqui continues with his key task of networking
with the second- rung government machinery and party, and is the last
man standing without being touched so far.
Babu Singh Kushwaha: As Mayawati's former telephone attendant, it has
been a speedy rise for this MBC leader who is minister of mining and
geology and panchayati raj. Mayawati is looking to cultivate the MBCs,
a vast but untouched vote bank, and Kushwaha could not have been at
the right place, at the right time. He is also Behenji's trusted
backroom boy, who looks after the party's administrative affairs; even
the party's registration was done in his name. He is an old-timer and
as he has realised, the lesson for survival in the BSP is to keep a
low profile even as your political clout grows in leaps and bounds.
Jaganath Chamber, Neth Ram and Fateh Bahadur: They are the
increasingly powerful Dalit lobby in the bureaucracy who are taking on
the Brahminical and upper caste dominance in their stride, with the
full backing of Mayawati. Chamber has grown from strength to strength
beginning as one of the senior administration officers appointed by
the CM to review police and administrative works, and was made in
charge of Jhansi division. As principal secretary (home), Fateh
Bahadur is also flexing his muscles, refusing to kowtow to upper caste
pre-eminence and control. Neth Ram is also one of Maya's principal
secretaries, and together, the trio is a force to reckon with in the
bureaucracy.
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