MH-AMBEDKAR

Deve Gowda could be "dark horse" for PM post: Ambedkar
    Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar
Thursday claimed neither Narendra Modi nor Rahul Gandhi will
become the next prime minister and someone from the "Third
Front" may occupy the coveted post after the elections.
    Ambedkar, convener of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi
(VBA), said former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda could be a
"dark horse" for the post.
    The VBA, a political front floated by Ambedkar and
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, contested all the 48 Lok Sabha
seats in Maharashtra, where voting ended last month.
    Interacting with mediapersons at the Mumbai Press
Club, the grandson of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar sounded
confident about the VBA doing well in the elections.
    "According to my estimate, no party is going to get a
majority and therefore neither Narendra Modi nor Rahul Gandhi
will get a chance to become the prime minister.
    "Someone from the Third Front may emerge as a surprise
candidate to occupy this coveted post. Who will be PM is a
wild guess as of now. But I foresee Deve Gowda could be a dark
horse for the Prime Minister's post," he said.
    Ambedkar said the JDS leader from Karnataka will be an
acceptable PM candidate for the non-BJP and non-Congress
parties.
    "The BJP is not going to get a majority and in that
case, Modi will not become the prime minister. On the other
hand, the Congress has rivals in each state and heads of
regional parties in those states will not accept a prime
minister from the Congress party," the former MP claimed.
    The Dalit leader said the BJP will get 148-200 Lok
Sabha seats, while the Congress's tally will be around 100.
The rest of the seats will be shared by regional parties and
outfits like the VBA.
    Talking about his own outfit's performance, he said
the VBA has "succeeded" in getting the support of new
generation of Muslim voters, which is quite encouraging.
    "We could form a Dalit-Muslim aghadi (front)," he
said, adding the Lok Sabha poll outcome will have a bearing on
the Maharashtra assembly elections slated for later this year.
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