Take it from Mayawati, Sushil Kumar Shinde or Meira Kumar will be next PM

BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Friday kicked off her campaign for the 2012 assembly election, with a speculation that the Congress could install Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde or Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as prime minister for a brief spell before the polls.

“The Congress is desperate to dent the BSP’s strong Dalit votebank. To lure the Dalits, the Congress can stage the drama of installing Shinde or Meira Kumar as prime minister for some time,” Mayawati said, while inaugurating the Ambedkar Park at Noida —  officially named ‘Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal’. She also inaugurated 20 other projects worth Rs3,000 crore.

She targeted the Congress, dubbing it “anti-Dalit”. Referring to Meira Kumar’s father, she said: “Babu Jagjivan Ram dedicated his life to the Congress, but they did not let him become PM. In fact, Jagjivan Ram had to quit the Congress and form his own party. Now, the Congress wants to stage the drama of making his daughter the PM for a brief period to lure the Dalits,” she said.

The inauguration of the Noida Park, spread over 84 acres and built at a cost of about Rs 700 crore, marked the anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar converting to Buddhism at Nagpur on October 14, 1956.