Maharashtra146;s first lady

When Ujjawala Shinde, wife of chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, sent out greeting cards for Makar Sankranti this year, the writing on the...

When Ujjawala Shinde, wife of chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, sent out greeting cards for Makar Sankranti this year, the writing on the wall was clear for all to see. Though the demand to field her as a candidate from the Solapur Parliamentary constituency had started as early as August last year, it is only now that the Congress high command considered the plea8212;that too out of compulsion. Congress could not find a candidate of reckoning for this seat.

After losing this seat in the September 26 Lok Sabha by-election last year to the BJP8212; when Shinde gave it up to head the state8212;it has become a prestige issue for the Shindes. For a second time round the chief minister cannot afford to let the Congress lose the seat in his home turf. Though initially reluctant to field his wife, he finally yielded to pressure. Now, it is the BJP which cannot find an opponent of equal stature.

Outside Solapur8212;the Shindes8217; home constituency8212;Ujjawala may be better known as the CM8217;s spouse, but in Solapur she has independent identity. She may not be a great champion of the underprivileged, but she is certainly their hope. In all the years8212; a decade at that8212;her husband was away from Solapur propagating the Congress ideology from Delhi, it is Ujjawala who nurtured the constituency.

She has toured the constituency extensively and is aware of all issues. For those outside Solapur she is the woman in the background smiling at cameras, providing the perfect family photograph. But, on home ground she is a woman with a steely determination. When Solapur burnt during communal riots last year, while the chief minister was pacifying the Opposition in Mumbai, Ujjawala went to the homes of the affected.

Later when The Indian Express met Ujjawala at her farmhouse in Solapur last year, she was distressed at the losses to family and property. Clad in a brown chiffon saree with elegant jewellery, she was the perfect hostess. Filling a plate with puris, she voice her concerns.

8216;8216;When I went to their houses they looked at me with hope. Everything had been burnt, the utensils, mattresses and things they had collected with their meagre money. Though we gave them some things what they lost is irreplaceable. They lost faith and trust,8217;8217; she says.

Born and brought up in Dadar, she shared a unique friendship with Meenatai Thackeray, the late wife of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. 8216;8216;When I moved from Dadar to Solapur it was a culture shock. With a politician husband I had to be on the right side all the time,8217;8217; says Ujjawala. Though her husband and Thackeray were on two sides of the political coin, it did not stop her bonding with Meenatai.

Story continues below this ad

She loves shopping and films. Despite her status as the first lady of the State she loves to do her own vegetable shopping. 8216;8216;I hate carrying all that security with me. Often my youngest daughter and I duck the security and go out on a shopping expedition. I am very particular about what my husband eats. So I prefer to choose the vegetables. He prefers homefood and I make sure I cook it.8217;8217;

The items on her menu depend on the chief minister8217;s agenda. 8216;8216;He loves homemade crabs. So I prepare it on a day when he has few appointments. He can truly enjoy it then,8217;8217; says Ujjawala.

Her greatest desire is to watch a film in a theatre with her husband minus the entourage that accompanies him everywhere. That was before she wore her own political crown. Probably after the

elections she may have to check her own diary before she decides on a crab menu.