'If all goes well..': Mayawati again hints at her PM ambition

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati has indicated that if she gets a chance to become the Prime Minister, she will contest the Lok Sabha election from Ambedkar Nagar.

BSP Supremo Mayawati.

LUCKNOW: Days after her ally Akhilesh Yadav said the Mahagathbandhan of Uttar Pradesh would decide the new Prime Minister after Lok Sabha elections, BSP chief Mayawati on Monday hinted at her ambition for the country's top post. Mayawati indicated if she gets a chance to become the Prime Minister, she will contest the Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar. "If all goes well, I may have to seek election form here because the road to national politics passes through Ambedkar Nagar," she said. Mayawati has won the Lok Sabha elections from Ambedkar Nagar four times - 1989, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Addressing a rally in Ambedkar Nagar in the backdrop of her cut-out in which she is seen standing outside Parliament, Mayawati said that the era of 'Namo Namo' was over and time had come for those who chant ‘Jai Bhim'. This is the first time in these elections that Mayawati has given clear indications about her aspirations for the Prime Minister's post though her ally, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, has repeatedly said that he would back Mayawati as Prime Minister. He said the country is going to have a new prime minister this year and it is this alliance which will decide who will be that person, Yadav said on Monday. Bitter political rivals SP and BSP have come together for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections after facing drubbing from BJP in 2014 general election and in the 2017 assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh. The SP is contesting on 37 seats, the BSP on 38, and the RLD on three as part of a state-wide seat-sharing pact. However, the opposition alliance has decided not put up candidates on Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, traditionally held by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 while SP could manage only five and BSP was unable to open its account. (With inputs from IANS)