It indeed was the ascent of the rainbow coalition. The stage was set under a white canopy with a fringe of golden and blue hues.
Mikes tested, the master of ceremonies waited for the victor, Behenji Mayawati, to arrive for the anointment, even as the vanquished, former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, sat with a taut face in the front row of the spectators’ gallery.
Behenji’s parents were the first to arrive, escorted to the venue by BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, the former advocate-general who is now literally the right hand man of Uttar Pradesh’s new subaltern supremo.
Mayawati’s mother took her seat next to Governor T V Rajeshwar’s wife.
But Mayawati and the governor themselves were a good half-an-hour late. Both were ushered on to the stage by the now ubiquitous Mishra to the tune of ceremonial music.
The queen-to-be was in a pink “salwar-suit”, the colour she wore on the day of the counting. She handed over her trade-mark purse to an ever-present aide donning “a Himesh Reshamiya cap”.
By then “Mayawati zindabad” was in the air for a while, even as the national anthem was being played. And then it was all quiet, followed by the Governor’s announcement: “Shrimati Mayawati ko mukhyamantri niyukt kiya jata hain.”
The lady took the oath in Hindi, saying: “Main satya nishta se shraddha purvak, bhay anurag va dvesh ke bina sanvidhan ke anusar karya karoongi” (I will work according to the Constitution, with truthfulness, dedication and without fear, favour or rancour).
Mulayam could be seen shifting a little in his seat.

Satya nishtha
All the BSP leaders took their ministerial oath with “satya nishtha”. None of them swore by “Ishwar ki sapath”. Each time a BSP leader came on the dais, Mishra in his nicely-cut grey suit and tie would get up and guide him towards the mike. After the cabinet ministers, it was the turn of the ministers of state with independent charge. They lined up in groups before the mikes and read out their oath in a chorus.
One of them, Narayan Singh could not read his oath correctly. Well, the Behenji who was a teacher before she took to politics of the radical variety, had a word with him after he was finished.
Another BSP leader Dharam Singh Soni twisted the oath, saying “Main mantri ke room mein” (I, inside the room of a minister) instead of “Main mantri ke roop main” (I in my capacity as a minister). It was a harmless faux pas.
However, all the new ministers made up for the fumble by touching the feet of the queen.
The heat was not exactly bearable and understandably, one of Mayawati’s small nieces fell asleep in her chair.