New Delhi, Mar 16 : In an apparent bid to corner BSP chief Mayawati, LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan-led National Dalit Front (NDF) on Sunday announced it will lend support to non-BSP candidates working for the Dalits' cause in the country.
The NDF, formed last year, has members from political parties spread across the country and espouses the Dalit agenda. The front has also projected Mr. Paswan as "a better Dalit PM" for the country than Mayawati.
Paswan, who is also a Union minister, said NDF would declare the list of candidates it will support in coming Lok Sabha election on March 22 adding that the candidates would not be put up by the NDF but they would belong to different parties comprising the UPA.
Attacking Mayawati, NDF senior functionary and RPI chief Ramdas Athvale said, "the NDF will oppose people who are campaigning for Manuvadis by taking the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar."
"There are talks on proposing Ms. Mayawati's name for Prime Ministership on the pretext of her being a daughter of Dalit. She is not the daughter of the poor but rather of the rich. If there is any talk of Dalit PM, Mr. Paswan's name must be considered," he added.
Senior NDF leader and chief of Uttar Pradesh-based Indian Justice Party, Udit Raj said, "Paswan will prove a better Prime Minister for the country in comparison to Mayawati in all respects."
