A firebrand Hindu nun and leader of one of India's poorest states has emerged as a rising star of India's ruling party as it seeks re-election in this month's national elections.
Uma Bharti, 43, who has taken a vow to remain celibate, governs the sprawling central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the best-known leaders of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) right-wing.
A charismatic speaker, the saffron-robed leader's ability to work the crowds is being tapped by the BJP-led coalition to reach out to voters in the run-up to elections that opinion polls tip the alliance to win.
In the campaign for the elections, due to be held in phases from April 20, Bharti has targeted India's main opposition Congress party and, in particular, Italian-born Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
"No foreigner will become India's prime minister as long as a sanyasin (nun) like me is alive," she told a recent rally.
The no-nonsense nun, who used to spend her days trudging door-to-door begging for alms, now travels by train and bounces along India's bumpy roads in a four-wheel-drive jeep to bring her message to voters.
She still is uncompromising in her devotion to her religion. As part of that, she opposes the slaughter of cows for their meat and is often seen on the campaign trail stroking a cow -- revered by Hindus as sacred.
In fact, she says she would like cows to play a larger economic role and points to Holland, where dairy food production is a big income earner.
Her opponents accuse her of spending too much time promoting Hindu revivalism, attending 45-day "yagnas" -- Hindu fire rituals -- and holy fairs, rather than on development.
Bharti retorts that she is focused on development, not religion, when she sits in the chief minister's chair.
"No one can stop idle chatter ... I don't try," said Bharti, who was elected in state elections last December.
"People love poking their noses in other peoples' private business," she added in an interview while travelling on a train to a remote temple retreat in Gorikund in the Himalayan foothills.
"Even as chief minister I think I'm entitled to some time off. I can choose to go to Gorikund for a day on my own personal time to meditate. Or is this a crime?"
However, in line with the BJP which rode to centre stage on a platform of shrill Hindu revivalism and now is seeking to win mainstream appeal, she has toned down her religious rhetoric.
She now is focusing on building the economy of the mainly agricultural state of Madhya Pradesh, regarded as one of India's most backward.
"Files do not gather dust on my table," said Bharti, known for her plain-speaking style that strikes a chord with India's rural masses.
Bharti was accused of inciting a Hindu mob in 1992 to tear down a 16th-century mosque that Hindu hardliners believe was built atop the birthplace of the warrior god Ram. Some 2,000 people died in nationwide religious riots after the razing of the Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.
Although Bharti still faces a court case over the mosque's destruction and believes a temple must be built on the site, her speeches now are peppered more with references to roads, water harvesting, easing bureaucratic red tape and agricultural development than Hinduism.
An aide, Sanjay Chatturvedi, said Bharti put in an average 15-hour working day and toured the state extensively. "She does not have a family to fuss over. As a sanyasin, all her time is spent on serving God and the people. She finishes her prayers before 7:00 am and starts pouring over files," said Chatturvedi.
Despite little formal education, Bharti, who speaks Hindi and English, is a voracious reader whose favourites include the biographies of India's independence hero Mahatma Gandhi and Latin revolutionary Che Guevara.
Analysts say Bharti gets too tough a rap for her unusual style that draws attention even in India where politicians are frequently unconventional.
"It's not fair to rubbish her intentions. Bharti is not corrupt. She is unconventional to the point of sticking out. And she has a soft spot for women's issues," Delhi University politics professor Sunita Kohli said.
Bharti's particular concern is raising female education levels in Madhya Pradesh, which census figures show has a literacy rate of 50 percent for women compared with over 65 percent in more progressive states like Maharashtra, Mizoram and Kerala.
"People say I can't relate to problems women face as I am a sanyasin. But I will see to it that girls in my state not only get an education but find jobs," Bharati said.
"Even some educated women suffer abuse in their homes, but an independent income and a job really gives a woman a choice -- she's not helpless, she can support herself," she said.
"By the end of June, I'll have an action plan ready that will target girls aged between two to seven. Officials will go from door-to-door in the most backward parts of the state asking parents to send their daughters to school."
She believes the fact that she is a woman could help her in her quest to raise girls' education levels in the state.
"The people who have elected me will listen when I say 'Send your daughter to school -- one day she will look after you,' " she said.