Niranjan Jyoti no stranger to controversy - Times of India

LUCKNOW: A first-time MP from Fatehpur, Niranjan Jyoti was recently given a berth in the Modi Cabinet, which according to political observers in Uttar Pradesh was due to her being an OBC from the Nishad community, as BJP eyes the assembly polls in UP in 2017. While she has declared her profession as "katha vachak" (a raconteur) in her affidavit, she has declared ownership of an SUV worth Rs 11.50 lakh, as part of her declared assets of Rs 41.23 lakh.

Jyoti, 47, was an MLA from Hamirpur, after a win in the 2012 assembly polls despite a Samajwadi Party wave. Earlier she had made two failed attempts in 2002 and 2007.

While her detractors credit her win in the Lok Sabha polls to the Modi wave, Jyoti made it to the Cabinet during the recent expansion as BJP is keen on the Nishad vote constituting nearly 5 per cent of the OBC votes in UP. "The party wishes to groom an OBC leader ahead of the UP Assembly polls," said a BJP insider.

Her marriage was short-lived and she joined the ashram of Swami Parmanand, an active participant in programmes of the Viswa Hindu Parishad and a close ally of Ashok Singhal.

Jyoti gained notoriety following her religious discourses after the Ram Temple movement of 1992. Party insiders claim that she has habitually been shooting off her mouth, often making controversial comments during her speeches.

Jyoti is an intermediate and in the affidavit filed by her while filing nomination for the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, she has declared an annual income of Rs 2.39 lakh in 2012-13 and total assets of Rs 41.23 lakh, including an SUV worth Rs 11.50 lakh, jewellery of Rs 75,000 and agricultural land worth Rs 9 lakh.

She has mentioned a case under non-cognizable offence category which includes charges related to criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt and adultery.

Jyoti made news barely a month after winning the Lok Sabha election from Fatehpur in June this year. She got into a dispute with her own party worker, leading to police complaints.

The incident upset the local BJP unit, with the UP BJP even appointing Kanpur regional president Bhalchandra Misra to make an inquiry. However, before Misra could submit his report, she was inducted into the Modi cabinet.

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