Table of Contents
Mayawati ji is a well-known face of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Who has also been a former Chief Minister there. Hence they play an important role in Indian politics. She has joined hands with Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav. Due to which their pair is becoming famous among the people as aunt-nephew pair (Bua – Bhatija). Mayawati did such work in her life as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, due to which her followers call her by the name of Iron Lady. We are going to talk here about the ups and downs and political career that have come in her life, so let’s know:
Mayawati’s real name is Chandavati Devi. She is born on 15 January 1956 in a Dalit Hindu family in Smt. Sucheta Kriplani Hospital, New Delhi. Her father’s name was Prabhu Dayal and Ramrati. Her mother Ramrati died a few years back at the age of 92. Her father was a government employee in the post office in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Badalpur, Uttar Pradesh. Due to which Mayawati’s family lived in Uttar Pradesh.
After graduating from Kalindi College Delhi, she did LLB from Delhi University in 1983. She also did her B.Ed from B. M. L. G. College, Ghaziabad.
After completing her studies, Mayawati started working as a teacher in Indrapuri JJ Colony, Delhi. During that time she was also preparing for the IAS exam. Once in 1977, Kanshi Ram met Mayawati, a well-known Dalit politician, and he was very impressed by her speech and thoughts and he inspired her to join politics. Mayawati was also influenced by Kanshi Ram’s ideas and she decided to join politics.
In 1984, Kanshi Ram founded the Bahujan Samajwadi Party, and included Mayawati as a member of this party. It was from here that Mayawati’s formal debut in Indian politics started. In 1989, Mayawati was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time, and became the representative for the Bijnor constituency in the Lok Sabha. In 1994, Mayawati became a member of the Rajya Sabha or the upper house of Parliament for the first time.
After being elected a member of the Rajya Sabha, in June 1995, Mayawati formed an alliance with the Samajwadi Party and took charge as the Chief Minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Taking over this post, Mayawati became the first Dalit woman to become the Chief Minister of a state and thus created history. However, she remained in this position only for a very short time. After this, Mayawati served as an MLA in the Uttar Pradesh State Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 1998. In 1997, Mayawati had the privilege of becoming the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the second time. But this time also she remained working in this post only for a few months. In the 2002 assembly elections again, Mayawati aligned her Bahujan Samajwadi Party with the BJP and became the Chief Minister of UP for the third time. Then in 2003, the BJP withdrew its support with the BSP, due to which Mayawati once again had to give up her chief minister’s post.
In 2003, Kanshi Ram, the founder and president of Bahujan Samajwadi Party, died, after which Mayawati was elected the president of this party. After this, in the 2007 assembly elections, Mayawati won and took oath as the Chief Minister for the fourth time. And this time she completed the first full term term of her chief ministership. During that time she was also serving in the Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member.
Criticisms: – Mayawati ji has been criticized in many cases so far. For example, once Mayawati had installed many statues of Buddhism, Hinduism and Dalits during the tenure of her Chief Minister, in which she herself was also involved. She was criticized a lot for wasting the money of tax payers. Apart from this, she also became a victim of criticism for the disorganization of the World Bank Fund. Once she also had to face the allegation of WikiLeaks.
Money spent on the idol: – Recently i.e. in March 2019, the Supreme Court of India had asked Mayawati for an explanation of the elephant statue as well as the money spent on her own idol.
In the 2019 general election: – In April 2019, the Election Commission of India had banned Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief Mayawati for 48 hours for violating the code of conduct. In fact, the commission had come to know that Mayawati was appealing for votes on the basis of religion during the election.
Who is the biggest enemy Mayawati?
Once Prabhu Chawla asks Mayawati, ‘Who do you think is the biggest political enemy in the country?’
The BSP supremo smiles and replies, ‘There is no dearth of such people in the country. You have already taken the names of people like Amar Singh yourself, so taking or not taking my name does not make any difference now. We believe that people who promote casteism in the country are our biggest enemies.
While talking to senior journalist Shekhar Gupta, the BSP supremo said, ‘I was preparing to become an IAS officer, but Kanshi Ram ji told me that no matter how big an officer you become, but you have to listen and obey the leaders only. When I became the CM of UP for the first time, I also felt it when big officials started waiting for my orders. I ordered them that law and order should be maintained in the state and those who were not heard earlier should now be heard immediately.
Who will become the political heir of Mayawati?
The name of Rajaram, a resident of Azamgarh, was being taken prominently in this list. It was believed that he would take over the throne of Mayawati in the future, but gradually now as Mayawati’s political heir, one name after the other is being added. From Mayawati’s brother Anand Kumar to nephew Akash Anand, names are being taken. Not only this, there are many other Dalit leaders of the party, who are being seen as the successor of Mayawati.
Mayawati is the first Indian Dalit member to become the Chief Minister of an Indian state. She is considered a symbol among Dalits and is popularly revered as “Behenji”. As a leader of the party, she has been praised for raising a lot of funds for the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Mayawati’s Views on Other Political Parties:
‘If Congress had fulfilled its promises, it would not have been out of power’
Taking a jibe at the Congress, Mayawati said, “People of the state are not going to easily believe many election promises made by the Congress party like the SP. Had the Congress fulfilled even 50 per cent of its election promises, they would not have been out of power at the Centre, UP and most of the states in the country.”
, Mayawati, while targeting the SP, accused the Dalits and backward born saints and great men of disdain. She tweeted, “SP has been a contempt of great saints, gurus and great men born among Dalits and backward since the beginning, a special example of which is the new Ambedkar Nagar district created from Faizabad district. They also opposed making Bhadohi a new district Sant Ravidas Nagar and even its name was changed by the SP government.
Books on Mayawati
The book ‘Iron Lady Kumari Mayawati’ was written by senior journalist Mohammad Jameel Akhtar. This book was published by Shri Kanshi Ram on the eve of the birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar on 14th April 1999.
Behenji: Political Biography of Mayawati written by veteran journalist Ajay Bose.
Books written by Mayawati
“Bahujan Samaj and its Politics” was published by Shri Kanshi Ram on the party’s twenty-fifth anniversary on June 3, 2000.
The book Mera Sangharshmay Jeevan and Bahujan Andolan Ka Safarnama was published by Shri Kanshi Ram on 15th January, 2006 on Mayawati’s 50th birthday.
‘My Struggle-Ridden Life and of Bahujan Samaj’ was published on March 15, 2008, on the eve of Kanshi Ram Jayanti.
More about this source text