Lucknow: Mayawati says she’s in race for PM

TNN

Lucknow, 08 July 2013  :  Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati on Sunday became the first top-ranking politician to openly unveil her aspiration for the most important political job in the country, saying she was throwing in her hat forprime ministership. She said this even as she attacked the BJP’s presumptive candidate for the post, Narendra Modi, describing him as "unfit for the job" and "narrow-minded".

 

"People must think before voting, because a person who aspires to be PM but talks only about saving Gujaratis in a calamity like the one that struck Uttarakhand will not be able to work honestly on a post which requires nationalist and secular credentials," said Mayawati.

Her comments came at a Brahmin outreach rally where she announced 21 Brahmin and 17dalit candidates on 38 of the 80 seats in UP where Brahmins and dalits are in a majority. Huge cut-outs of dalit icons and hoardings of Mayawati and SC Mishra were all over the place, with more than 30,000 people gathered at the Brahmin mega convention at Ramabai Rally Sthal here.

The event witnessed chanting of mantras and blowing of conch shells by pandits in saffron outfits donning the Ram-nami angochhas, sacred threads, bright tilaks and dangling ’chotis’. But the enthusiasm was not as strong as it was in similar conventions in 2007, when Brahmin-Dalit combination helped BSP win assembly polls with clear majority. Still, it was a far cry from BSP’searlier position, ’Tilak, tarazu aur talwar, inko maaro joote chaar.’

Unlike Modi, she said, she represented a party that stood for all castes and communities and promised that if voted to power, the BSP would deliver much more in a five years than what all other parties did in over 60 years after Independence. And although the convention was for Brahmins, Mayawati used the opportunity to lure other castes and communities as well.

"I have given more tickets to Brahmins because of their participation in party activities. If other upper castes and Muslims contribute more, they may get an even bigger share of election tickets and if voted to power, in the government and administration," said Mayawati.

Her guiding principle, she said, is "Jiski jitni bhagidari, uski utni hissedari (the greater the participation, the more the share)". She also said a government led by her party at the Centre will not only amend the Constitution to provide quota in promotions for Dalits but also provide reservation to minorities and upper castes on economic basis.

In 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Brahmin vote share dropped though BSP won some seats. But, it was routed in 2012 assembly polls, forcing Maya to go back to consolidate her core dalit vote bank but now she is trying to expand again.