BSP chief a ‘first-rate egomaniac’

“In previous years,the now fifty-three-year-old Mayawati threw multiple lavish parties for herself that were noteworthy for the large number of cash donations from sycophantic party members,civil servants and business people,” said the cable.

The December 2008 murder of a district engineer by a BSP legislator during a collection shakedown for Mayawati’s birthday “gift” forced the BSP leader to tone down her celebration. It also states that BSP legislator Shekhar Tiwari along with two cronies killed district engineer MK Gupta when he either failed or had not raised the funds himself,demanded as tribute for Mayawati’s birthday.

The cable says this exhibited a new brutality in UP that “even Mayawati — a first rate egomaniac — felt compelled to cancel her birthday party on perhaps her favourite day of the year when the sycophantic fealty of BSP party members reaches its apex”.

Another cable dated October 23,2008,says poloffs (political officers) travelled in three cities of UP to gauge the political state of play. It found,“Mayawati is obsessed with becoming Prime Minister and the BSP will spend huge sums in next year’s national polls.’’ With all signs pointing to another coalition government in Delhi,“Mayawati could be a powerbroker and perhaps even a king (or queen) maker”.

Under the heading “Eccentric Paranoia”,the cable says,“Mayawati’s full majority victory in May 2007 UP state Assembly elections left her beholden to no one and has allowed her to act on her eccentricities,whims and insecurities. When she needed new sandals,her private jet flew empty to Mumbai to retrieve her preferred brand.”

Under “Press Cowered” heading,the cable says Mayawati rarely speaks with the media and when she holds a press conference,questions are not allowed.

It further says that Mayawati has a “vice-like grip on all levers of power.” “All decisions must run through Mayawati or her very small coterie of advisors,” says the cable. According the cable,a poloff met a journalist in Lucknow who said a minister was forced to do sit-ups in front of her as penance for not first asking permission to call on UP’s Governor.

A cable dated January 15,2008 says,“At a January 7 press conference,notoriously mercurial Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati threatened to withdraw support from the United Progressive Alliance(UPA) and claimed that certain Congress members were trying to kill her.”

Another cable dated March 17,2009,before the Lok Sabha elections,says poloff noted “Maywati deeply wants to become Prime Minister and with thirty plus seats,she will be a player at the center. With fifty seats (an outside possibility),the unpredictable Chief Minister could be a major player and could stand an even better chance of fulfilling her burning ambition.”

In concluding comment,the cable titled “Political Inertia favors Mayawati,UPA”,says Mayawati could get a good share of Lok Sabha seats because of her serious effort into the campaign and loyal and transferable Dalit votes. “Mayawati runs the state like a fiefdom,but most voters take corruption in UP politics as a given,” it remarks.

A cable dated October 9,2007,and titled ‘Mayawati has little to show for first 100 days’,says,“A recent visit by Emboffs(Embassy Officers) to Uttar Pradesh(UP) revealed that newly elected Chief Minister Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) has left a trail of governance and policy missteps in her first 100 days in office but continues to engender hope and confidence in many sections of society unhappy with the policies of the preceding government.”

The cable further says that Mayawati had not been able to tackle the problems of poverty,education,employment,and governance facing the state. “Instead,she remains focused on undoing many of the decisions her predecessor,on providing symbolic gestures of empowerment to her Dalit base and on positioning herself for a national political role in the event of early parliamentary elections in India,” says the cable.

It says,“The large Indian conglomerate Reliance was considered close to the Samajwadi Party and the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime in UP. According to our interlocutors,after vandalism directed against new Reliance Fresh grocery stores in August,Mayawati acted harshly by shutting down Reliance stores in Lucknow and Varanasi. Although farmers subsequently took to the streets demanding the reopening of these stores,Mayawati insisted her actions represented farmer friendly policies as well as restoration of law and order.”

The cable further comments,“A rumor Emboffs heard frequently was that Mayawati was looking for her cut from Reliance since her predecessor had already gotten his share.” The cable further explained,“To continued frustration of consumers,stores have not reopened and Reliance recently announced its intention to hold off on expanding operations in UP.”