A Rajya Sabha member and chairman of the State Advisory Board, Satish Chand Mishra practised law before joining the BSP. His father T S Mishra was a judge.
Many believe Mishra was once close to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee; the latter even attended Mishra's house warming party in the 1990s.
He proved his legal skills when Mayawati appointed him as UP's advocate general. Mishra defended his party chief in the Taj Corridor scam when cases were registered against Mayawati for approving a project to build shopping malls and multiplexes near the Taj Mahal in violatation of established norms.
When Mayawati's government lost power in 2003, Mishra went back to practicing law. Observers credit him with the idea of social engineering, of Brahmin-Dalit unity. The strategy proved effective in the May 2007 assembly election when the BSP formed a government on its own steam.
Mishra is the BSP's suave face and advises the government on important projects in his role as chairman of the state advisory board. Interestingly, Amar Singh held a similar post when Mulayam Singh Yadav was chief minister.
Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani.
Also see: 'We don't bother about the Sensex' | India Votes 2009
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