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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000108 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI PINR KISL IN
SUBJECT: MAYAWATI CANCELS BIRTHDAY PARTY, CASH GIFTS STILL 
WELCOME 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan 
Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati canceled her January 15 
birthday party ostensibly because of the Mumbai attacks.  In 
previous years, the now fifty-three year old Mayawati threw 
multiple lavish parties for herself that were noteworthy for 
the large number of cash "donations" from sycophantic party 
members, civil servants and business people.  But the 
December 2008 murder of a district engineer by a BSP 
legislator during a collection shakedown for Mayawati's 
birthday "gift" forced the BSP leader to tone down her 
celebration.  Instead, at a short ceremony she announced a 
budget-busting series of welfare programs and public works 
projects totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.  While the 
more or less open extortion-cum-donation fundraising of the 
BSP remains a standard facet of UP politics, Mayawati's 
decision to have a low-key birthday was probably a wise move. 
 She still quietly collected millions of dollars, but stepped 
back from a possible corruption tipping point beyond which 
she may have seen erosion of her Dalit base.  The brazen 
December extortion murder (Mayawati naturally denies it was 
linked to birthday fundraising) demonstrates the nature of UP 
politics, and provided her arch UP rival, the Samajwadi 
Party, plenty of ammunition to protest her rule and rally its 
troops ahead of national elections, due this April-May.  End 
Summary. 
 
Fundraising Birthdays 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In past years, Mayawati celebrated her January 15 
birthday with large parties in Lucknow and Delhi.  Ranking 
party officials vied for a chance to feed Mayawati a piece of 
her birthday cake.  The BSP terms the day "fundraising day," 
and party members make donations to Mayawati directly, often 
tens of thousands of dollars apiece.  With the BSP enjoying a 
full majority in the UP assembly, party legislators can rely 
on generous donations from cowering civil servants, fearful 
of demotion or transfer, and local business people, who must 
deal with the state government on a daily basis. 
 
Extortion Turns Deadly 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) According to press accounts, on December 23 BSP 
legislator Shekhar Tiwari visited district engineer M.K. 
Gupta and demanded tribute for Mayawati's birthday.  Gupta 
either refused, or hadn't raised the funds himself, and was 
tortured and killed in his home by Tiwari and two cronies. 
Gupta's wife, who was shut in a bathroom by the assailant, 
heard her husband's pleas for mercy as Tiwari and his friends 
worked over Gupta thoroughly.  They then dumped Gupta's body 
at the nearest police station.  Authorities arrested Tiwari 
though he claims innocence.  The investigation is ongoing. 
Mayawati denies the killing was related to her birthday 
fundraising.  Regardless, the scandal sheds light on the 
corrupt nature of UP politics. 
 
Low Key for Fifty-Three 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) With the alleged linkage of the Gupta murder to 
extortion for Mayawati's birthday, the opposition Samajwadi 
Party (SP) ensured the scandal remained in the news.  Since 
the story broke, SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar 
Singh have repeatedly called for the Chief Minister's 
dismissal and SP cadres have staged numerous street protests. 
 Clearly feeling more heat than ususal, Mayawati canceled her 
public birthday parties.  That does not mean, however, she 
canceled the fundraising.  In a short ceremony at her 
residence, she tried to change the subject with the 
announcement of several new social programs.  The two largest 
provide for the regularization of urban slum dwellings and 
USD 500 payments to economically disadvantaged girls who 
complete high school.  With an eye towards the coming 
 
NEW DELHI 00000108  002 OF 002 
 
 
national polls, Mayawati made sure to emphasize that these 
programs reward all castes, not just Dalits. 
 
UP Politics Exposed, 
Mayawati Remains Focused on Delhi 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment: While political corruption in UP shocks 
few, the alleged murder of M.K. Gupta by a sitting member of 
the state assembly exhibits a new brutality.  Even Mayawati - 
a first rate egomaniac - felt compelled to cancel her 
birthday party on perhaps her favorite day of the year when 
the sycophantic fealty of BSP party members reaches its apex. 
 Politically, the cancellation decision was probably a good 
idea, and no leader has ever been hurt handing out sops to 
voters.  So the BSP did not celebrate "fundraising day," but 
plenty of funds were still raised.  They will be put to use 
as Mayawati attempts to shore up her image over the next four 
months before national elections in April and May.  This 
latest scandal has likely not dimmed her view of her chances, 
or her desire, to become Prime Minister.  End Comment. 
WHITE