Visakhapatnam: BSP president Mayawati said Jana Sena supremo Pawan Kalyan would be Chief Minister after the elections. “I will work for the Special Category Status for AP,” she said.
The BSP chief and Mr Kalyan held a press conference in Visakhapatnam and spoke a public meeting in Vijayawada.
This is Ms Mayawati’s first visit to the state, after striking an alliance with the Jana Sena. She said she was confident that her alliance with the Jana Sena, CPI and CPM would prove its strength in the Lok Sabha elections both in Telangana state and in Andhra Pradesh.
“Pawan Kalyan is a leader with social responsibility. It is a welcome that young leaders like Pawan Kalyan are entering politics with a thrust to bring change in society. Dr Babsaheb Ambedkar had strived hard for the uplift of SCs, STs and weaker sections. There is a significant population of SCs, STs in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and they should be given their share of the fruits of developmental,” she said.
Mr Kalyan wished that Ms Mayawati would be Prime Minister. “Mayawati as Chief Minister increased the budget of Uttar Pradesh from `45,000 crore to 3 lakh crore and this shows the capability and capacity of the leader. The BSP is the largest party in the country after the Congress and BJP. I thank Ms Mayawati for accepting the alliance proposal and I for her promise of Special Category Status for AP.”
Speaking at a public meeting in Vijayawada, Mr Kalyan told his cadres that they should not limit themselves to applauding him but should get down to work. He said this in response to continuous cheering and sloganeering in his support by the crowd.
He said Ms Mayawati is not ‘behenji (sister)’ for him but like a mother, and took her blessing by touching her feet. Ms Mayawati came from an ordinary family and became CM of Uttar Pradesh four times where caste politics play a major role, he said.”
