What is Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti smoking?
Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who rose to prominence when she won the Assembly elections from Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh in 2012, sees herself as another Uma Bharti. The 47-year-old sadhvi from Hamirpur runs the Akhand Paramdham Ashram at Jail Road in Hamirpur, apart from a dozen other ashrams in Kanpur, Lucknow, Haridwar, Fatehpur and Mirzapur. A well known Ramkatha vachak in Bundelkhand region, the minister of state for Food Processing Industries has done some good work in Hamirpur in water conservation, education of girls, and free eye camps.
She comes from Nishad subcaste of OBC, a substantial presence in Bundelkhand as well as along the state's riverbanks - they are traditionally boat people. This makes her a key factor in BJP's future. She has always seen herself in competition with the other sadhvi, Uma Bharti, who is from the Lodh subcaste. Both won the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2012 from Budelkhand - Uma Bharti won from Charkhari Assembly seat of Mahoba and Niranjan Jyoti won from Hamirpur constituency. While Uma Bharti attended only one session of Vidhan Sabha, Niranjan Jyoti made her presence felt during the Vidhan Sabha sessions by speaking up against poor policing in the state.
Niranjan Jyoti continued to claim her presence in the spotlight after winning from the Fatehpur Parliamentary constituency in the General Elections. On June 14, she made the startling claim that the Samajwadi Party was trying to eliminate her when on a visit to the Civil Lines area of Fatehpur district. She has also tried to outdo Uma Bharti in firebrand speeches. During her campaigning in the Hamirpur assembly by-election in September, Gayatri Prasad Prajapati of SP registered a complaint with the Election Commission about her speeches.
After winning the Lok Sabha elections, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has been trying to assert her importance in state politics. On November 24, when she landed at the Kanpur central railway station and the local administration didn't provide her with what she thought was adequate security cover, she objected and her staff scolded the SP (Protocol). Seen as close to BJP President Amit Shah, she is also often compared to fellow MP Yogi Adityanath, who is a Thakur, and has a similar lack of restraint when it comes to his language.
The only other time Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti made an impression on the nation was at the swearing-in ceremony when she fumbled with her oath and had to be corrected by the very particular President Pranab Mukherjee.