As They See It

Truth be told, Yadav is a lot less comfortable wearing the mantle of war widow than her handlers suggest. She squirms evasively when asked her opinion of the Kargil conflict. She wrinkles her nose when asked how she feels being marketed as a hero8217;s survivor, rather than as the accomplished educator she is. As a woman who holds a doctorate in chemistry, Yadav is still a rarity in India.

8220;Kargil is not an issue for me. I am very clear on that. I don8217;t want to use a martyr8217;s name to get into office,8221; she said while being whisked between villages during a day on the stump this week. If people around her want to dwell on it, she added sharply, 8220;I ignore it. It8217;stheir feeling, not mine.8221;

Yadav8217;s grief for her husband of a decade, she said, is 8220;very private8221;. Indeed, she has drawn some criticism for coming out of mourning so soon and entering politics; Indian widows traditionally remain in seclusion for months.

On the stump, she did seem sad and distant at times though far more circumspect than India8217;s most famous widow. Sonia Gandhi, who is running for Parliament and is the Congress party8217;s likely choice for prime minister, mentions the 1991 assassination of her husband, Rajiv, a former prime minister, at virtually every appearance8230;Yadav, in contrast, must be prodded for details of her husband8217;s death8230;But if the candidate is shy about promoting her Kargil connections, the BJP machinery is playing the war card to the hilt. No campaign stop is complete without a local soldier or retired officer giving an emotional speech.