High priestess to scorned sanyasin

Bhopal: Time seems to have finally arrived for Uma Bharti to bid adieu to the party she began her political career with.

The BJP on Wednesday suspended her from the party?s primary membership and served a show-cause notice asking her to explain in three days why she should not be expelled from the party.

Born in Madhya Pradesh?s Dunda village on 3 May, 1959, Bharti?s religious inclinations began at the age of five when she became fluent with the teachings of Hindu religious texts like Gita and Ramayan.

In due course of time this talent helped her in commanding the status of a demi-god at the peak of the Ayodhya movement.

Bharti, who stormed to power promising the moon to the power-starved and road-less people of MP, was initiated into politics when she came in contact with the late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia and leaders of RSS and VHP. Within no time she became the vice-president of the state unit of BJP in 1988.

Bharti got elected to the Parliament after contesting her maiden election from Khajuraho in 1989, when passions were high on the Ayodhya issue. She retained the seat four times consecutively and went on to become a member of Lok Sabha from Bhopal.

The fiery sanyasin held the portfolio of human resource development, sports and coal in the Vajpayee government. Recognising her organisational acumen and oratory skills, the BJP leadership projected her as the party's chief ministerial candidate in Madhya Pradesh in 2003.

The firebrand leader stepped down from the chief minister?s post after the controversial flag-hoisting case in 2004 when she hoisted the national flag at an Idgah Maidan.

After she stepped down as the CM she had announced that she will launch a Tiranga Yatra from Hubli to Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar via August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai to highlight the significance of the national flag.

The firebrand leader has kept herself constantly alive in national politics because of being very closely associated with the Ram Mandir campaign.

The sanyasin sees Hindutva and development as complementary towards each other saying the concept of Hindutva was irrevocably linked to the idea of Ram Rajya.

Her vision statement before the 2003 state elections had this line: "So powerful are the qualities of cow dung that walls insulated with it can resist nuclear attack and radiation."

Known for her oratory, she is also a prolific writer as her creative prowess is showcased in her books like Swami Vivekananda, Manav Ek Bhakti Ka Nata and Peace of mind.