Neither Modi nor Rahul would become next PM, says Prakash Ambedkar

He said the next PM would neither be from BJP nor Congress, adding that former PM HD Deve Gowda is a dark horse in such a situation

Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday said both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi do not stand a chance to become the next Prime Minister of India. He said the next PM would neither be from BJP nor Congress, adding that former PM HD Deve Gowda is a dark horse in such a situation.

Pune, India - December 31, 2017: Prakash Ambedkar in 'Elgar Parishad' at Shanivarwada in Pune, India, on Sunday, December 31, 2017. (Photo by Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO)

Ambedkar, who heads the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA),said “Modi will not be able to become the PM till the BJP gets an absolute majority on its own. In case of Congress, regional parties will not allow Rahul to become the PM as the Congress is their main rival in their respective states,” said Ambedkar. “Do you feel that Naveen Patnaik or N Chandrababu Naidu or Mamata Banerjee will allow Rahul Gandhi to become the PM,” he asked. He said Congress may win around 100 seats and BJP would win around 148-200 seats in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Currently, I see HD Deve Gowda as the dark horse and he is more acceptable as he did not interfere in the states when he was the PM. The second one is K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telengana CM) as he had performed very well in the recent Assembly polls and will also do good in the Lok Sabha,” said Ambedkar.

For the Lok Sabha elections, Ambedkar’s partnership with the AIMIM was opposed by the Congress as they called it as a communal outfit. The Congress asked Ambedkar to snap ties with AIMIM, which Ambedkar refused. Both Ambedkar and the state unit of Congress accused each other of being unreasonable. The VBA contested all 48 seats in Maharashtra.