At a glance: Uma Bharti - from 'Madhya Pradesh CM' to 'union minister of India'

New Delhi: Uma Bharti, the firebrand leader of BJP has been inducted in Narendra Modi cabinet as cabinet minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation.Uma Bharti, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, will be playing a crucial role in making the dreams of Narendra Modi a reality as far as cleansing the river Ganga is concerned.In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Uma Bharti was elected from Jhansi Lok Sabha constituency in UP. She defeated Chandrapal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party.She earned the title of a `sanyasin' through numerous displays of spirituality through `teerth yatras' and `yagyas'.She managed to leave a mark in the corridors of power in a very short span of her chief ministership.Born in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh into a family of Lodhi peasants, Uma inherited religious ideologies and beliefs. Having a childhood spent surrounded by Hindu epics and mythologies, Uma grew up as a strong believer in Hindu religion. The foundation of what we know of her now was laid in Uma's early twenties when she was raised by Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia. Uma's political career was born as a result of the stimulus created by Rajmata's teachings. She joined Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and at an early age in 1984 she contested her first elections. Her first run in the elections resulted in a defeat but after five years, in 1989 she bagged victory from Khajuraho. It took her almost 10 years to win a seat from Bhopal. After winning from Madhya Pradesh in 1999, Uma Bharti was given the responsibility of Human Resource Development, Tourism, Youth Affairs, Sports and Coal as Minister of State during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure as prime minister. But what gained her popularity was her prominent role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Her vocal support for Hindutva was on account of her strong religious beliefs and background. During Ayodhya riots, her slogan "Ramlala hum ayenge, mandir wahin banayenge" became a slogan for VHP activists in 1992. In 2003, she was elected as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. The prime reason behind her victory was the need of having a chief minister from backward caste.Uma's term as chief minister was short lived following the issuing of an arrest warrant against her, because of the 1994 Hubli riots. Her political downfall had commenced. She raised her voice against senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani in 2004 and consequently was suspended from the party. A year later she was called back but her criticism knew no boundaries and she criticised Shviraj Singh Chouhan's appointment as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Following these anti-party activities, Uma was expelled from the party.Uma organized several `yatras' to gain popularity. Her `Ram Roti yatra' indeed worked for her. It proved to be a crowd puller and made her establish her own party called the Bhartiya Janshakti Party. Her efforts were all in vain, as her party could not win the polls.Several attempts were made to bring her back as a part of BJP but she herself and her opponents Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj were completely against the move.During 2007, Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, she withdrew her candidates following a request made by the VHP chief, Ashok Singhal.She once again became a BJP member in 2011 and took the responsibility of guiding Save Ganga campaign on her shoulders.Uma Bharti with Digvijay SinghUma Bharti spending some personal momentsSadhvi Uma Bharti addressing a crowd of followersIn her younger daysUma Bharti offering prayer in holy river GangaThe young Uma Bharti