The New Shakti

Uma Bharati’s new Bharatiya Janashakti Party is adding to the BJP’s mounting worries. She has set herself up as a spoiler, putting up a candidate in Rae Bareli, UP, where the BJP’s Vinay Katiyar is struggling. The bypoll results should be interesting—will Uma prove a dud outside MP or can her profile as an OBC mass leader pull in a small pool of votes? Uma has also tied up with the Apna Dal, a small caste- based party of UP. Meanwhile, in her home state, Raghunandan Sharma, a BJP state vice-president, has joined her. Other disgruntled leaders could also find her a magnet.