 "Padam Singh")
It has been a time of deflection at the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Prominent leaders of the party, including legislators, have been deserting BSP president Mayawati ahead of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Not many were surprised by these developments. Yet, most were astounded to see Mayawati's long-serving former personal security officer Padam Singh sharing the stage with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah during his rally in Lucknow on September 21.
Singh, who joined the UP police in 1975, was a close confidante of BSP's founder and Mayawati's mentor, the late Kanshi Ram.
Fondly recalling that Mayawati would tie rakhi on his wrist, the former policeman, who was her personal security officer for 18 years, says he gradually got disenchanted with her after retiring from service in 2012. "The final nail in the coffin was when Behenji told me to come to meet her only after seeking appointment. This was the treatment meted out to me for years of selfless service."
This happened in September 2013. While Singh still holds on to the 18 rakhis from Mayawati, he has had no interaction with the BSP leader since.
There was a time when the BSP leader was never seen in public without the 5'10'' policeman, dressed in his signature safari suit and cap, standing nearby. Such was his single-minded dedication to her that in February 2011, during her visit to Auraiya district as UP chief minister, Singh bent down to wipe Mayawati's footwear with his handkerchief.
"It was a spontaneous act when I saw mud on her footwear," he says, reasoning, "As her personal security officer, it was my duty to prevent any mishap and I presumed Behenji could slip from the ladder while embarking the helicopter."
He says Mayawati even cautioned him about the presence of the media and said it could lead to a controversy. "The media did run the story for the next couple of days, berating me for acting the way I did, but I have no regrets or second thoughts about it," he says.
Singh holds a senior BSP leader responsible for the exodus of top party leaders. He says he too walked out because of this particular leader.
"BSP has totally strayed from Kanshi Ram's mission and 2017 will be the last election of reckoning for the party," he prophesises.
Today, Singh is an ardent admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I have heard Modi ji' speeches. His words truly bring out the anguish of the disadvantaged sections of society," he says.
In his police career of 37 years, Singh was awarded a gallantry medal for his daredevilry in 2003, when he engaged with a gang of robbers aboard a train. Despite taking a bullet in the stomach, he chased the marauders with his service revolver, killing two of the miscreants and averting the robbery.
Born into a well-to-do family of Agra, Singh was the sixth of eight brothers and a sister. His father was a contractor with UP police, which inspired him and his elder brothers to join the force.
His family is now settled in Kanpur. While his daughter is a doctor, his son works with the Kanpur municipal corporation.
The man who would always stand behind political leaders now nonchalantly says he is ready to contest on a BJP ticket from Agra if the party decides to field him.
He is confident of the BJP repeating the success of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. "The Dalits are realising that BSP is no longer on its original mission," he says, "and they will support the BJP in the coming elections." Mayawati and he, incidentally, both belong to the same community - the Jatav Dalit sub-caste.
