Maya eyes more northern states

Much before the pollsters gave a win-win position to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the case of a mid-term election, the party chief, Mayawati, had drawn up plans to emerge as number one party in at least five key northern states.

"We are just waiting for the bye-elections (in Uttar Pradesh) to be over to begin work in other states," said an MP belonging to the BSP. The states where Mayawati has decided to forge alliances and mobilise the traditional votebank of Dalits are Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

With her eyes on the next election, Mayawati has told partymen to remain equidistant from the Congress as also from other leading parties.

"The BSP has the potential of emerging as a key political force in all these states as we have done in Uttar Pradesh. Also, the options of a third front are fast fading out," sources close to the BSP said.

Mayawati, in the internal meetings of the BSP, has told her party leaders that the formula for winning in these five states remains the same as it was in Uttar Pradesh "" mobilise political support among the Dalits and notch up an alliance with one other caste group.

"We believe that the Dalit population in these five states is large enough to be mobilised to our advantage and we would start work very soon,'' a leader said.

Mayawati had recently visited Rajasthan. She is likely to visit the other states after the bye-election in UP are over, party sources said. Party leaders admit "Punjab is very important in BSP's scheme of things" and is going to be Mayawati's top priority. Punjab is also the birthplace of BSP's founder Kashi Ram.

However, Mawayati's pan-India ambitions have hit a roadblock in South India. Party sources said the BSP for the time being was consciously keeping away from the southern states as it felt the UP formula was unlikely to work there.