Though not a member of the INDIA bloc, hopeful for the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance: Ambedkar Prakash

Prakash Ambedkar, the leader of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and grandson of BR Ambedkar, participated in seat-sharing negotiations with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Mumbai on Friday in anticipation of the next Lok Sabha elections.

After the first meeting, Prakash Ambedkar questioned the INDIA bloc’s very existence in front of Maharashtra Congress chairman Nana Patole and leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Sanjay Raut. Although he is not a member of the INDIA bloc since he has not yet held discussions with the Congress, he said, expressing optimism for MVA in Maharashtra.

“In my opinion, the INDIA bloc has disintegrated. Due to differences over seat distribution, the Congress and Samajwadi Party are splitting (in Uttar Pradesh). This isn’t supposed to occur here (in MVA). Ambedkar was cited by the PTI news agency as stating, “(West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamta Banerjee and (Chief Minister of Bihar) Nitish Kumar have gone separately.

He suggested reaching an agreement on the Common Minimum Program (CMP) before discussing seat sharing.

Prakash Ambedkar’s requests would be examined and taken into account, according to Sanjay Raut. Additionally, Nana Patole announced the formation of a committee to develop the agenda with assistance from the MVA’s minor parties.

After eight days, the final document will be brought to the next meeting.

Members of the group for seat-sharing discussions include Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs and Sharad Pawar supporters Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad; Congress leaders Nana Patole, Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat and Varsha Gaikwad; and Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Sena.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the head of the Maharashtra BJP, said, “We have nothing to do with who is joining the Opposition alliance MVA,” during a party meeting to discuss the strategy for the 2018 Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai.

“We are only committed to capturing 51 per cent vote share in the upcoming polls,” he said.

With 48 Lok Sabha seats, Maharashtra has the second-highest number in the nation, behind Uttar Pradesh’s 80.

The Ambedkar-Owaisi combination upset the Congress and the NCP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, taking about 14% of the vote and damaging more than a dozen seats. Therefore, it is imperative that VBA be included in the MVA before to the next Lok Sabha elections in order to prevent vote splitting and to challenge the state’s governing ‘Mahayuti’ coalition.