Mayawati's ultimate goal is Delhi

Establishing the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in New Delhi is the ultimate goal of its president Mayawati, the newly appointed fourth-time chief minister of the country's most populous and politically consequential state of Uttar Pradesh.

Buoyed by her party's grand success in the state, Mayawati exuded confidence that she would one day call the shots in Delhi as well.

"With this accomplishment in Uttar Pradesh, my objective is to expand the base of our party, so that we could fulfil our ultimate goal of establishing the BSP at the centre (Delhi)", she said in reply to a pointed query at her first press conference that followed the oath-taking ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

"When we could do it in the country's most populous state, I am sure we will be able to pave out our path to Delhi as well," she said.

"Our party had set up base in several states of the country and we are confident of doing well at the national level too one day."

Thanking the state's electorate for accepting her party ideology, she sought to reassure them by adding: "You know I do not believe in double-speak, so I will always do whatever I say."

She recalled how she had drawn inspiration from her icons - Jyotiba Phule, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Narayana Guru, Ramaswamy Periyar and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Asked about her plans of expansion outside north India, she shot back: "Well, Andhra Pradesh already has a BSP MLA."

And she is ready to take up issues that could enable her to strike a rapport with common masses in other states. In that context, she advocated reservation in government jobs to the economically weak members of the upper caste Hindus as well as Muslims.

"I would appreciate if the central government initiates the move and introduces such a law. We will promptly implement it in Uttar Pradesh," she said.

First Published: May 13, 2007 21:17 IST