Uma Bharti of BJP: profile career, split with party

Uma Bharti is a forgetful person. She forgets the lessons learned and the road travelled. Which is why she is in a mess now.

First of all, she forgot that the BJP is a right-wing party dominated by men as all right wing parties are. Women BJP leaders are good for bringing votes and building a base, but ultimately power goes to the men. She forgot that theatrics wouldn't sell in a such a market.

Uma Bharti forgot that her mentor was BJP's long-time chieftain LK Advani. She did not realise the implications of burning bridges with her sole guardian angel. (the other angel, Govindacharya, is of no use when it comes to power broking)

Uma Bharti claims to be the real BJP, with its ideals like Uniform Code, Ayodhya Temple, Swabhimaan and self-reliance. Poor thing forgot that BJP moved away from these ideals long time back. No one in BJP talks about a Uniform Civil Code now. It does not believe it can whip up another hysteria over the temple issue. Swabhimaan and self-reliance sounded idealistic when Nehruvian socialism was being replaced by rules of capital. These days when the Communist parties embrace globalisation and foreign investment, no one but the old men at Nagpur and Uma Bharti believe in these ideals.

Uma Bharti forgot the importance of cultivating leaders who could make her CM. To be precise, her enmity with Arun Jaitley and Pramod Mahajan would have been okay if she had more powerful godfathers in Advani, Vajpayee and Joshi. So, when the tide turned against her, there was no one to help her in BJP.

Uma Bharti forgets that she is not a good stuntmaster. Earlier, she tried a similar drama when she resigned MP chief ministership to "court" arrest. Her party swiftly put Babulal Gaur in her seat, who refused to vacate his post later. Uma's misguided attempt at martyrdom bombed when her Tiranga Yatra failed, with the BJP quietly pulling the carpet from under her feet. She has completely forgotten this and launched another padayatra - this time Bhopal to Ayodhya. This time, BJP has been more forthright, asking its members not to attend the yatra.

Uma Bharti also forgets about her suspension earlier this year on similar grounds. Then, she had attacked senior party leaders, got thrown out and later readmitted after an apology. She forgets that her school of brinkmanship has failed to work with the BJP. Why, even Advani's brinkmanship failed to find traction with Nagpur.

Even as lust for power propels Uma Bharti to take a leap into the air, she forgets that many of her senior-level tormentors in BJP achieved their standing in the party after decades of work as organisation men and, yes, RSS men. Many of them have never been seen a chief minister's chair. In the saffron scheme of things, organisation came first; executive work later. Uma Bharti completely forgot about this.

BY JM