Mayawati likens herself to Churchill in latest book

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati compared herself with the World War II British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In a new volume of her autobiography “A Travelogue of My Struggle-Ridden Life and BSP Movement”, released on her birthday on January 15, she writes that Churchill had emerged victorious in World War II but lost the next election at home in 1945. In the same way, Mayawati says, she had done great work and created landmarks during her 2007-12 regime but lost the elections.So a loss in one election should not weaken the Dalit movement.
Undeterred by three successive electoral reverses in 2009, 2012 and then in 2014, the BSP chief has also appealed to the ‘Sarvasamaj’ to vote her to power at the Centre and find in her an ‘iconic Prime Minister’ so that she could accomplish the mission of “social transformation and economic liberation”.
In her 640-page autobiography, she claims that during the 2007-12 BSP rule, she left an indelible mark in the annals of Dalit movement and political history of UP, by raising memorials and parks in the name of Dalit icons who had been buried in history.
“British PM Winston Churchill was successful in World War II in 1945, but lost the elections held immediately after. A loss in elections hardly matters, I am proud of what I have achieved in the last regime and would continue to pursue the goal of socio-economic and political liberation of the Bahujan Samaj,” she said.
This is the 10th volume of her autobiography. In the book, which is yet to hit the market, she has appealed to the workers to sacrifice themselves for the success of the movement launched by Dalit icons like Bhimrao Ambedkar for the liberation of the oppressed classes. “Capture this temple of power for your emancipation through votes,” is her emotional appeal on the opening page of the book. The catchline is aptly superimposed on the photograph of the Indian Parliament.