Kanshi’s kin make it a messy affair

NEW DELHI: Kanshi Ram’s family members had indulged in a bitter, though futile, public tussle with Ms Mayawati for the ‘possession’ of the bed-ridden BSP founder leader when he was battling his illness for the past many years. They made yet another public show of their messy turf-war when the leader breathed his last, only to lose out to Ms Mayawati once again.

As soon as Kanshi Ram’s death was announced, some of his relatives started making wild demands — including a post-mortem of his body, as they felt his death was due to slow-poisoning by Ms Mayawati. In fact, his brother and sister hurriedly moved the Delhi High Court, seeking an order to conduct a post-mortem on his body. The High Court, however, rejected their plea. However, the Court granted police protection to his siblings, Harbans Singh and Swarn Kaur, to attend his cremation at the Nigambodh ghat.

Some relatives of the departed leader in Punjab also unsuccessfully demanded that the dead body be handed over to his family for cremation.

Ever since Kanshi Ram fell ill, and was put up at the residence of Ms Mayawati, his family members would often turn up in Delhi demanding that they should be allowed to take him ‘home’. However, Ms Mayawati, the political heir of Kanshi Ram (who had renounced his family links when he entered politics) fought and defeated his family members both legally and politically.

These battles for the ‘possession’ of Kanshi Ram were often attributed to the clashing political and other ambitions of his family members and Ms Mayawati. However, with Kanshi Ram always projecting Mayawati as his political heir, a role that she performed with total control and authority ever since her mentor was forced to withdraw from the national scene due to illness, there is hardly any scope for a serious ‘succession war’. Kanshi Ram’s family members, though, could be expected to target Ms Mayawati in the run up to the Uttar Pradesh elections.