NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, a member of the scheduled caste, vowed yesterday to take her party to the national level and challenge the country’s two major parties.
Mayawati has made clear her ambition to be India's next prime minister. Her Bahujan Samaj Party has emerged as a major force in Indian politics, winning control of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state.
Mayawati is a Dalit, or “untouchable,” the social outcasts at the bottom of India's complex hierarchy of castes.
While caste discrimination has been outlawed for more than half a century, and a quota system established with the aim of giving Dalits a fair share of government jobs and places in schools, most remain almost destitute, kept down by ancient prejudice and caste-based politics.
Addressing a news conference, Mayawati said her party would contest the elections in April and May “all alone, in all the states.” While the party will run on its own, Mayawati said she was open to forming a coalition after the elections to ensure the ruling Congress party and the Hindu nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party are kept out of power.
Mayawati rose to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, forming a powerful alliance of Dalits and high-caste Hindu Brahmins, to force out Mulayam Singh Yadav, the state's former chief minister, whose own support was rooted among middle-caste farmers.
But so far she has failed to replicate her success in other state elections.
Mayawati’s comments yesterday were widely viewed as an attempt to position herself at the head of a newly formed alliance of Communist and regional parties, known as the “Third Front.”
Speaking at a dinner she hosted for leaders of the Third Front, Mayawati said: “This meeting has nothing to do with the issue of premiership. The issue will be decided only after results of the Lok Sabha polls.” The political acumen showed by Mayawati is expected to play a crucial role in keeping Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Third Front “united” in their electoral campaigning.
Mayawati also released the BSP’s manifesto for Lok Sabha elections, which promises reservation for upper castes, if it captures power at the center. Asserting that her party will make an all-out effort to keep Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA out of power, Mayawati said that the left bloc and several other parties were engaged in this task with determination.
Quoting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a prominent Dalit leader who played a crucial role in drafting the Indian Constitution, Mayawati said that a party can bring about changes in the country only after it gets the “master key of political power.” On economic policies of any future government headed by BSP, Mayawati said: “Our economic policies, as also foreign policy, would be in the interest of the nation and the society as a whole.”
The Congress party, elected in 2004, heads a broad coalition. It was previously supported by Communist parties but lost that backing because of a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.
Congress’ prospects for re-election are unclear. Its major accomplishment — India's rapid economic growth in the last few years — has been hit hard by the global downturn. It has also faced criticism for the bungled handling of the Mumbai terror attack in November, when 10 gunmen rampaged through the city for three days, killing nearly 200 people.
However, their main opposition, the BJP, is also in disarray. Its leadership is aging and fragmented, and its anti-terror line was criticized as being too harsh in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
— With input from agencies
