Lucknow:
In Delhi, leaders of different parties may be using her multi-lakh garland to attack her, but in the Uttar Pradesh heartland, the public pomp and glory of Maywati's evokes a different reaction. The one she wants.
(See Pics)Just across the road from the Chief Minister's glittering Dalit memorials in Lucknow is Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, a Dalit-dominated colony. Here, Mayawati's statues, parks, 200-crore rallies and garlands made of money bring vicarious pleasure, not criticism.
We ask Meira Kashyayp, a Dalit, "What do you feel when Mayawati is made to wear a garland of notes?" She smiles as she says, "It feels nice, because I cannot even wear a garland of flowers."
The controversy over her two garlands, the first worth several crores, depending on who you ask, has given Mayawati the sort of publicity that politicians dream of.
(Read: Income Tax inquiry into Mayawati's garland) Her party leaders say that by attacking the Chief Minister, the Congress has walked into a trap. They cite Digvijay Singh of the Congress who famously said, "Mayawati Dalit ki beti nahin, daulat ki beti hain (Mayawati is the child of wealth, not Dalits).
(Read: Opposition slams Mayawati)In comments like that, Mayawati has seized the day and asked her workers to spread the word - that parties like the Congress cannot stomach a prosperous and powerful Dalit. It's a strategy she has used successfully in the past. When she was accused of corruption in the Taj corridor case, she retaliated that attempts to modernize the areas around the Taj were being punished instead of recognized.
In 2007, under attack for building memorials and not infrastructure, she returned to power with a solid majority, proving that her antics do just fine with the 21% Dalit population of UP.
Prof Vivek Kumar, political analyst, says, "I think if you had gone and interviewed the people who participated in the rally, you would have got the message that it is not about 18 lakh or 18 crores- people are ready to give even their drop of blood and then they want to actually decorate their Behen Mayawati."
However, analyst also point out that Mayawati won her last election with the support of UP's Brahmins -and she runs the risk of alienating them by over-playing the Dalit card.