Maya turns 52, wants PM seat for birthday gift

MAYA'S MARCH: An authoritarian leader with a mass appeal, Mayawati is determined to carve a niche in politics.

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New Delhi: Every street corner in Uttar Pradesh has her face staring down at you on her birthday. It's an image that Mayawati's supporters hope to replicate across the country.

Eight months ago, the scale of Mayawati's victory in the UP Assembly elections — her newly emerging Dalit-Brahmin alliance — marked the beginning of her journey from a state Chief Minister to a national leader.

And now, on her 52nd birthday, she is hoping to take the great leap forward. Her biggest power comes from her Bahujan Samaj cadres, a durable vote bank like no other in the country.

After cutting her birthday cake, UP CM Mayawati refused to break ice with her rivals and critics.

Scotching talks of the state government footing the massive bills of her birthday party, Mayawati said that her party workers paid it. In fact, she said that the cake was a present from her close aide and cabinet minister, SC Mishra. Mishra, a Brahmin had played a key role in forging the unique Brahmin Dalit alliance formula, which had led to Mayawati sweeping the assembly elections.

Mayawati's cousin brother in Delhi hopes that she would hold the country's top job very soon. “If she can become CM four times, she can also become PM one day,” adds he.

"She is very authoritarian and runs her party like a dictator," says a political scietists, Sudha Pai.

But can Mayawati be the next prime minister of India? After all, what works in Uttar Pradesh may not work in India.

• In Uttar Pradesh, BSP now commands 30 per cent of the vote share
• In Himachal Pradesh, Mayawati's vote share rose from 0.7 per cent to over 7 per cent
• But in Maharasthra her vote share rise was only 4 per cent in 2004
• In Haryana, BSP's vote share actually fell to 3.22 per cent in 2005 in comparison to 5.74 per cent in 2000

But the statistics haven't deterred Mayawati from attempting to go beyond Uttar Pradesh. Every weekend for the last few months, she has been exploring new areas, from Andhra Pradesh to even Jammu & Kashmir.

Her role in these states seems to be that of a spoiler, designed to make her a kingmaker in the event of a hung parliament when general elections are held.

She has been quick to pick fights with her rivals in Samajwadi party and Congress. she has refused to reach out to the media and most significantly, she has continued with her old ways of suppressing all dissent.

She is known as the 'Suspension Queen', given her track record to suspend any officer who dares to speak against her.

Her zero tolerance for dissent has also made sure that no other leader rises in the ranks within the BSP and she alone can call the shots for the 180 million Dalits in India.

Some say she needs is an image makeover, if she wants to become a National Leader

"There is going to come a phase in a short while, where it is going to be more important for her to be seen as a national leader talking on even terms with other leaders. When that happens, she'll have to change her image," says image guru with Perfect Relations, Dileep Cherian.

But what many perceive as her weakness may also be her strength. An authoritarian leader with a mass appeal, Mayawati seems determined to carve a niche for herself in Indian politics — possibly that of India's first Dalit prime minister.