The year was 2001. I was attending Mayawati's press conference in Lucknow. Quite unlike her lavish PCs held these days, whenever out of power Mayawati used to invite journalists to her Mal Avenue residence (allotted in her name as a former chief minister of UP) where the conference used to be held in a small portico – Mayawati sat at a small table covered with white linen facing a dozen odd plastic chairs fixed neatly for the reporters.
On that hot summer day Mayawati further charged the atmosphere by quickly announcing the removal of her party's three important leaders – R K Chowdhary, Barkhu Ram Varma and Krishan Pal Singh for their alleged anti-party stand on the controversial reservation issue. Even as the conference was in progress, the news got flashed on the TV channels. After the conference got over journalists started to leave the venue but when they reached the entrance gate they found it shut completely. It was only when journalists managed to sneak out of Mayawati's house did they realize why the gate had been shut. Out of the three expelled leaders, two of them-- RK Chowdhary who was once a senior minister in the Mayawati government and Barkhu Ram Varma, former speaker of the UP Assembly, were struggling to get inside Mayawati's house but her security guards would not let them in.
"Sir, we have orders from within you are not allowed to go inside," the security guards told the two leaders.
Recalling this incident recently, with a sense of amusement, one of Mayawati's most trusted aide told me. "Behanji ne mujhe us din kaha ki turant darwaja band kar do. Dekho voh andar na a payen." (Behanji told me that day shut the gates immediately. Ensure that they do not come inside).
This is one of the innumerable incidents, which makes Mayawati so different from all the political leaders of our times. They may be the tallest Dalit leaders of modern day India and someone who has burning ambition for becoming the Prime Minister one day; but leave aside her stature and ambitions what sets apart Mayawati Naina Kumari from other leaders is her sheer vindictiveness not only towards her political rivals but also towards her own party-men.
Ever since Mayawati has taken over BSP's mantle from her ailing Guru and BSP founder Kanshi Ram, she has not only thrown out or cleverly sidelined of the party dozens of party leaders, MLAs, MPs without even bothering to seek an explanation from them. On numerable occasions she has called MPs and MLAs (no doubt they were involved in criminal cases) to her house, called the police and got them arrested.
Leave apart her arch political rival Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is quite regular in making allegations on Mayawati, the BSP chief has not even spared her Rakhi bother Lalji Tandon who played a decisive role in forming a coalition government with Mayawati in 2002. Within 24 hours after Mayawati took charge of UP in May last year Tandon was asked to immediately vacate his government residence at Mal Avenue and within a week this bungalow was razed to the ground to make way for a BSP monument.
In a recent rally in Lucknow when Mayawati threw hints about her secret successor, she sent out a clear message that the Bahujan Samaj Party founded by Late Kanshi Ram in April 1984 has come a long way -- from a party which once believed in internal parliamentary democracy to a party which is being run on the whims and fancies of its self-styled 'dictator' Mayawati. While critics remember Kanshi Ram as someone who had full faith in parliamentary democracy and constitutional morality, Mayawati clearly lacks these traits of her mentor. Under Mayawati, BSP has evolved into a party wrapped up under utmost secrecy. As a senior BSP leader remarks: "In this party the left hand does not know what the right is doing." Sources in the BSP say all party decisions – small or big -- are taken only by its President Mayawati although, often she tries sending out a message to the media that such decisions are taken collectively by her trusted party leaders.
So what is it that makes BSP different and in a way interesting of all other political parties? Does Mayawati believe in inner party democracy or not? CNN-IBN has tried to find out Mayawati's vision, her political ambitions, her philosophy and her style of running the party organization.
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Long off-the record conversations with several BSP leaders and even committed party workers have revealed several interesting features of the Maya Raj.
MAYAWATI'S VIEWS ON WOMEN
Herself a woman, Mayawati pays a lot of attention to the needs of BSP's women karyakartas. Party insiders say Mayawati has never given women any significant post in her party organization. The reason for this is quite fascinating. "I believe a woman's primary duty is to manage her family, her husband and her children, Mayawati often tells her workers in a closed door meetings. "By 5 o'clock in the evening every woman should be back to her home to do cooking and other house hold jobs."
She has instructed all her key organizers that in case they are holding a public rally or a karyakarta samellan (workers conference) care should be taken that the function gets over by evening. Barring exceptions, therefore, BSP rallies normally start at 11 am and end before sunset. When it comes to a woman's safety and security, Mayawati makes no compromises. There are very clear cut instructions to all party-men that any indulgence will not be tolerated.
So while Mayawati's views on women might seem a bit conservative, unlike the Samajwadi Party, the BSP's supreme boss does not oppose the women reservation bill although her party wants the bill to be introduced with some modifications. In the forth coming Lok Sabha elections she has given tickets to quite a few women candidates; although it is a different matter that most of these women candidates are just dummies of their husbands who are ministers or MPs with the BSP.
WORK 24/7
Ask party legislature or any key party coordinator he will tell you that ever since he joined BSP, he has lost sleep. "Often you get telephone calls at 2 am or 3 am from one of Behanji's OSDs (officers on special duty) dictating to you your next day's time-table," confides a party leader. There have been occasions when chief minister's office is has been opened at mid-night and fax sent to the district magistrates for immediate implantation of a Government order. So key party functionaries expect calls from her or her office any anytime. Sources say Mayawati herself sleeps for only 2 to three hours every night. Quite like the news room of a television channel several television sets have been set up in her residence. Round the clock officers from the Chief Minister's Office keep a constant ‘vigil' on news items that is being aired by the news channels. Constant reports are sent to Mayawati about any new item which concerns her, her party or her state.
DRESSING DOWN
This is Mayawati's favorite pastime. Party sources say in any close-door meeting when Mayawati speaks others only listen. If you are at fault you get a severe dressing down; it does not matter if you are a minister, a respectable Member of Parliament or an MLA. Sources say she has already taken resignation letters from several of her ministers and kept them with her. Recalls a BSP MLA: Once a young Brahmin minister was asked to deliver some donation (chanda) for the party. But the minister got late by two days. Behanji gave him a dressing down and asked him to write his resignation letter immediately. She kept the letter in her purse and remarked: "If you commit another mistake I will send it to the Governor."
NO PUBLICITY PLEASE
When it comes to publicity Mayawati does not like anyone else hogging the limelight. Be it party leaders or small time workers all have been strictly advised to keep ‘a safe distance' from the media. If you need to publish posters you need to take into confidence the zonal or district coordinators. In remote districts and villages pre-election meetings are always held behind closed doors. Media is strictly banned near the meeting site. "The reason for this is that Mayawati does not want the strategy discussed in the meeting to get leaked out to rival parties," says a leader. Publicity hungry Akhilesh Das and Mayawati's new Vaish leader has already told his publicity department to take special care while printing his posters; least he may face the wrath of Mayawati.
SPY SYSTEM
Not many leaders confide this but some insiders do admit that Mayawati has evolved a very efficient system of spies in her party. These are committed workers of the BAMCEF (All India Backward and All India Minority Employees Federation) an organization founded by Kanshi Ram in 1973. A party MP, MLA or even a minister can be watched any where and by anyone – it could be his servant, cook gardener or even a sweeper. Mayawati often tells her party-men in closed door meetings. "You cannot escape my eyes. I get to know what you are doing."
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