He lashed out at SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande, who on Sunday said Malema's populist statements were the biggest threat to South Africa's democracy.

The youth league president said the people who claimed to lead the working class had turned into a "lobby group".

Speaking at a meeting of the league's provincial general council, at the University of the Western Cape's Bellville campus, Cape Town, Malema said the league was the real champion of the working class because those who claimed to lead the workers were too busy fighting for government positions.

"We represent the petrol attendant, we represent the waiters and waitresses and we represent the masses," Malema said.

"We do this because those who are supposed to be the vanguard of the working class have turned themselves into a lobby group.

"The only time they open their mouths is when they say so-and-so must be a mayor, so-and-so must be what-what . the working class is leaderless", he said to thunderous applause.

"Our nature does not allow a vacuum. In the absence of 'the vanguard of the working class', the youth league occupies that space.

"The youth league struggles for total emancipation of the working class," he said.

Malema's latest salvo was aimed principally at Communist Party leaders such as Nzimande, who is higher education and training minister, and the party's deputy general secretary, Jeremy Cronin, who is deputy transport minister.

Speaking to the media on Sunday, at the end of his party's central committee meeting, Nzimande, without naming anyone, said: "This demagogy constitutes the greatest threat, not just to our electoral performance, but also to our hard-won democratic achievements."

The Sunday Times reported that Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of trade union federation Cosatu, warned that South Africa would become a "banana republic" if the league and others got rid of President Jacob Zuma and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe.

Cosatu and the Communist Party say that the league wants to oust Zuma and Mantashe at the ANC elective conference in Mangaung, Free State, next year.

Nzimande and Vavi vehemently oppose some of Malema's comments on nationalisation of the mines. They have branded Malema's campaign as a scheme to rescue debt-laden BEE mine owners.

Malema, who was speaking a day before the youth league's 24th elective conference begins at Gallagher Estate, in Midrand, said of Vavi and Nzimande: "You talk about nationalisation, they say you are bought by the black business.

"You talk about taking the land without compensation, you are reckless.

"Everything else that seeks to liberate the working class gets criticism from the so-called vanguard of the working class.

"They criticise, there is no plan . [You ask,] 'Can you put an alternative' - nothing, zilch. Why? You must wait for these ones [the youth league] to think first," Malema said.

The youth league leader, who is said to be driving a campaign to oust Zuma next year at the ANC elective conference, said he had no hidden agenda against Zuma.

"They used us to criticise our president and some of you believe those things. President Zuma is unchallenged. He is the president of the ANC and the country," Malema said.

"Nobody will wake up in the morning and topple President Zuma. Nobody will plot against President Zuma. Zuma is our president and we will never allow that.

"There is no attack, none whatsoever, from the youth league against President Zuma. Maybe people need to know because they forget easily. If we did not want President Zuma, we were going to say so . in the same way when we did not want President Mbeki we said, 'We don't want you'.

"And not only that, we went to President Mbeki's house and said to him, 'We are not going to support you'."

The Western Cape is backing Malema in his bid for a second term as league president.