LUCKNOW, 13 May 2007 — As the clock strikes 1 p.m. this afternoon, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati will take the oath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the fourth time.
The chief minister-designate made this announcement herself after a nearly 50-minute meeting with Gov. T.V. Rajeshwar at his official residence Raj Bhavan here yesterday afternoon to stake claim to form the government.
Mayawati drove to the governor’s house straight after she had convened a meeting of her newly elected 206 legislators.
“After being formally elected as leader of BSP Legislature Party, I met the governor, who has invited me to form the next government by virtue of BSP having won a clear majority at the assembly elections,” she told reporters.
“I will be sworn in as the next chief minister of this state at 1 p.m. tomorrow,” she said yesterday.
She refused to divulge how many ministers would take the oath along with her.
“Wait until tomorrow to get your answer,” she added with a beaming smile.
Asked if her Cabinet colleagues would include her new upper-caste Brahmin associate Satish Chandra Misra, who was beside her during the meeting with the governor, she quipped, “You can make your own guesses,” before driving back to her residence.
However, sources said that along with Mayawati, some other ministers could also be administered oath of office and secrecy. Mayawati and her party leaders have started the process of selection of possible ministers which is going to prove an arduous task especially keeping in view the victory of a large number of upper caste candidates.
As many as 34 Brahmins and 19 Thakurs have emerged victorious on BSP ticket this time around and Mayawati would be hard pressed to accommodate them in her ministry, sources said. However, not many ministers would be inducted in the first round.
The urgency to put a new government in place was necessitated out of constitutional requirement as the term of the existing state assembly expired on the midnight of today. Meanwhile, hectic preparations were afoot at the Raj Bhavan for the today’s swearing-in ceremony. Sources, however, maintained that the ceremony would not be a very large affair.
Senior police officials including state Director General of Police G.L. Sharma held a meeting to discuss the security arrangements for the swearing in ceremony. Necessary directions have been issued to make fool proof arrangements.
News of Mayawati’s win made front-page headlines in all the leading dailies, which noted that Uttar Pradesh would have a majority government for the first time in 14 years after being run by a string of often unstable coalitions.
“It’s nothing but Maya,” read the headline in The Times of India. Maya is the Hindi word for illusion.
“Mayawati’s mandate in Uttar Pradesh is spectacular. It confirms that despite its inadequacies, India’s democracy remains exceptional,” said the Indian Express in an editorial, commending her on the spectacular success.
Analysts said the vote was a wake-up call for other parties who had grossly misread the mood of the people.
“It’s a great day for democracy. It’s a greater day for the poor who have been ignored for too long,” said Rangarajan.
Uttar Pradesh, a state of nearly 170 million people, is one of the poorest in India, with 76 child deaths per 1,000 births and a high crime rate.
