Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 1 : General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Karat has said that his party would not be surprised if an "untouchables" politician emerged as the front-runner for the prime ministerial berth after 2009 elections.

On being asked about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati becoming Prime Minister, Karat said: "I am not ready to say anything because it is too premature, you see. After all in this country, we have had prime ministers who people never expected will be prime minister."

A day after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government recently won a vote of confidence, Mayawati, known as the "Queen of Dalits", had gone on record that ten main regional opposition parties were coming together for the 2009 General Elections.

The confidence vote was triggered by the withdrawal of support to the UPA Government''s Left allies to protest against a civil nuclear deal with the United States.

Mayawati has emerged as one of the strongest organisers of the opposition to the ruling coalition, and her influence appears to be growing. She rose to prominence after her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won an outright majority in the UP Assembly Elections last year.

Karat said his party was not eying a "Third Front", as an alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, as a pre-poll combination to take on the two.

"We have not talked about the Third alternative, be very clear about it. Our parties understanding of the Third alternative is not some combination to fight elections," Karat said.

In the past, such groupings lacked a common platform and were unable to win enough support to form stable governments. They generally hold the balance of power rather than lead the country. (ANI)