Click to play videoLucknow: Mayawati's successor is not part of the usual contingent of powerful men surrounding her. He maintains a low profile and like Mayawati, he too didn't find time to marry.
Raja Ram is a Dalit from Bharpur Pichwar village in Azamgarh district. At 40 now, Raja Ram completed his education from BHU in Varanasi and joined the party in 1995.
“He left house in 1995 and when he came back home after four years had had joined BSP,” says Raja Ram’s mother Kusma Devi.
Raja Ram comes from a lower middle class family and has four sisters and an elder brother. He was close to BSP founder, Kanshi Ram.
Kanshi Ram introduced him to Mayawati and while Behenji is reluctant to disclose his name but the choice is no longer a secret
“My successor is young. He will be a dalit,” she says.
Mayawati has counselled Raja Ram to stay away from media glare. But he has begun asserting himself. He screens candidates and interacts with leaders from other states.
BSP founder Kanshi ram always maintained that 85 per cent of India’s population of – the Bahujans - were ruled by 15 per cent of the population - the upper castes.
He firmly believed that a minority rule over the majority was unjustified. This explains Mayawati's logic of choosing a Dalit successor.
She has sent a strong signal that while she is ready to take support of the upper castes, in no way she would compromise with her party's basic philosophy.
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