Behenji

Book excerpt: This revised edition of Behenji, first published in 2008, examines Mayawati’s record as chief minister since 2007. It pinpoints the reasons behind the BSP’s poor performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, her return to the Dalit agenda prior to the 2012 assembly elections, as well as its surprising results. Also scrutinized are Mayawati’s performance as a dalit leader and administrator, besides the rampant corruption and failure of her social engineering project during these years. Though no longer likely to become prime minister, the author sees Mayawati playing a pivotal role in UP, and, indeed, Indian politics post the 2014 elections.