Exclusive: Subramanian Swamy backs Mayawati for PM post, says she is far better than Rahul Gandhi

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday backed Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati’s candidature for the prime ministerial post.

Showering praises on Mayawati, Swamy said that the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh was far better in her rule. For the PM face of the opposition, he also said that the BSP supremo was better than Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

“Mayawati has been the CM of Uttar Pradesh many times. In her rule, the law and order situation of the state was far better. If she stands for the PM post, then there is neither any doubt in it nor it is laughable. She is far better than Rahul Gandhi,” Swamy said in an exclusive interview to News Nation.

In January, the BSP joined hands with the Samajwadi Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, keeping the Congress out, though the two parties decided not to field any candidates in Rae Bareli and Amethi, the traditional strongholds of the grand old party.

Of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the SP will contest 37 and the BSP 38, leaving three for the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and two for Sonia Gandhi (Rae Bareli) and Rahul Gandhi (Amethi).

This comes amid efforts by opposition parties to present a united front against the BJP-led government in the parliamentary polls. Mayawati is among the opposition leaders, who are said to be harbouring prime ministerial ambition.

When asked about the political situation in Uttar Pradesh, Swamy admitted that if the sitting MPs are denied ticket by the party, they may shift loyalty to the Congress and the ‘mahagathbandhan’. This is the reason why the party has been brainstorming on the candidates in the politically crucial state, he added.

Swamy exuded confidence that Narendra Modi will remain the prime minister after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the BJP will rule for at least another ten years.

He, however, indicated that in order to split the votes of the BJP, Congress may field such candidates who may cause problems to the BJP and the opposition (SP-BSP alliance) contenders may win.

Taking a dig at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s scheduled campaign from Prayagraj to Varanasi using the river route, which will start on Monday, Swamy said that when he, Ashok Singhal and Uma Bharti were involved in cleaning of River Ganga and PM Modi was launching several schemes for it, then Priyanka was busy partying in Europe.