2008: The Riddles

But no one has seen the man, no one knows where he lives or works, what is his role in the party, where is his office, or how he can be reached. Ask any senior BSP leader and they all seem clueless. Squirming in embarrassment, they reply, 8220;Behanji would know.8221; But who dares ask Behanji?

Verma8217;s appointment is rooted in another mystery. At a rally on August 9 in Lucknow, Mayawati alleged that there was a plot to kill her, and that she had already chosen her successor. 8220;I am grooming my successor. He is from the Chamar community and he is 18 to 20 years younger than me, but he is not from my family,8221; she said. But she withheld the name.

She said that she had written the name of the 8220;chosen one8221; on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope and given it to two trusted aides who will announce it at the right time. Her announcement with all the spices of a thriller set the political circles abuzz. With no one 8212; from her own party leaders to opponents and of course the journalists 8212; ready to wait for the 8220;right time8221; to know

Mayawati8217;s successor, speculations and wild guesses are rife.

A BSP MLC, Raja Ram, appeared to fit Mayawati8217;s description. He was then the BSP vice-president, which is the second most important office in Mayawati8217;s party. But no sooner his name appeared in print, speculating that he was Behanji8217;s 8220;secret8221; successor, Raja Ram was unceremoniously sacked. In his stead, Mayawati appointed Alok Verma as the vice-president of the party. As everyone started looking for Alok Verma, the question of Mayawati8217;s chosen successor was relegated to the backburner. But the questions, however, remain. In effect, it is a double mystery that Mayawati created in 2008.

WHEN will Ambedkar Memorial be completed
On April 14 8212; Ambedkar8217;s birth anniversary 8212; Mayawati inaugurated the Ambedkar Memorial in Gomti Nagar, although it looked far from complete and work was going on all over. It was then said that the memorial was almost complete. More eight months later, hundreds of men are still working in several parts of the memorial, and the place is enveloped in dust.

Construction of the memorial was first started in 1995 on an area of 25 acres, during the first tenure of Mayawati and it was completed in 2002 at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

Coming back to power again in 2007, Mayawati decided to build it on a grander scale. Many structure were demolished to bring more land under it.

The nearby Ambedkar Sports Complex was also razed. So was a nearby office of the Crime Branch.

The way it has been expanding, and the way work has been going on, it is a mystery when it will be completed.

Why Maya sent Akhilesh Das to Rajya Sabha
When Akhilesh Das left the Congress to join the BSP in May after he was removed from the Union council of ministers, BSP chief Mayawati announced that he will be the party8217;s candidate from Lucknow Lok Sabha seat in the next general elections. Das indeed looked a strong candidate for Lucknow. He had been the Mayor of Lucknow from 1993 to 1995 and had been nursing the constituency for long. He had been organising various activities to reach out to people. In winter, he would distribute woollen clothes to the poor. On festivals, he would make it a point to send gifts to voters. In the cricket season, he would gift cricket kits to boys. Everyone thought Mayawati had made a smart move. With reports that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not going to contest this time, Akhilesh Das really looked like a formidable candidate. But come Rajya Sabha elections, Mayawati nominated Das to the Rajya Sabha. Good for Das, but the fact remains that the BSP now does not have a strong candidate for Lucknow.

So, why did Mayawati send Akhilesh Das to the Rajya Sabha?

When will Kalyan Singh stop sulking
For over a year, BJP8217;s Kalyan Singh has stayed away from all party activities. He even stayed away from the public meetings of party president Rajnath Singh and L K Advani. For the BJP, the former chief minister is important because of his hold in the backward communities. That is why he was appointed party vice-president in the first place. But he continues to nurse several grudges since the last year8217;s Assembly elections, when he had a little say in the distribution of party tickets. The party has been bending backward to accommodate him. So much so that when Rajnath Singh and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi8217;s Rajya Sabha term ended, it nominated Kalyan Singh8217;s proteacute;geacute; Kusum Rai, ignoring the claims of taller leaders. But 8216;Babuji8217; is still not mollified. He is now angry that the party has chosen Ashok Pradhan as its candidate from Bulandshahar Lok Sabha seat. Kalyan Singh holds Pradhan squarely responsible for the defeat of his son in 2007 Assembly election from Dibai. He is also unhappy with the leadership8217;s decision to have an electoral alliance with Ajit Singh8217;s Rashtriya Lok Dal. It remains a mystery whether he will ever stop sulking.

WHO killed Arushi and Hemraj
It was the murder most foul that rocked the nation, shocked the people and left children traumatised. When teenager Arushi Talwar was found murdered in her bedroom in Noida in May, Uttar Pradesh Police promptly declared the missing domestic help Hemraj as the killer. But a day later, Hemraj8217;s body was found on the terrace of the same house, leaving the police and people baffled. But the police soon made a shocking announcement 8212; that Arushi8217;s father Rajesh Talwar was the killer 8212; and sent him to jail. Everyone watched the spectacle of an IG rank officer, in an effort to prove his theory, making tasteless remarks on the character of the teenager and her father on live television. Even Chief Minister Mayawati, while announcing her decision to hand over the case to the CBI, spoke of some unmentionable findings from Arushi8217;s computer.

When the CBI moved in, there were hopes that the case would be cracked. The central investigative agency took the probe to a new direction, absolved Rajesh Talwar who was released from the jail, arrested three servants and followed up with a string of scientific tests on them. But more than seven months down the line, the double murder still remains a mystery. All the accused have been released on bail. The CBI8217;s explanation for failing to nail them is the shoddy investigation conducted by state police in the beginning, which led to the destruction of evidence.