‘MVA wants to save its own skin from inquiries’

PRAKASH AMBEDKAR, grandson of B R Ambedkar and president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), has decided to go alone in the Lok Sabha (LS) polls in Maharashtra. In an interview with Shreyas Ubgade in Akola, the three-time member of Parliament (MP) claims that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) never had the goal of defeating the BJP and has put up ‘compromise candidates’ in many seats. Edited excerpts:

Depending on who wins or loses, how do you see 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the larger context?

Realising that there are bigger issues at play, people have awakened. This is the greatest strength of Indian democracy. In times of crisis, the voter takes a stand and understands the stand he is taking.

Given that the common aim was to defeat the Bjp-led alliance, why did talks with the MVA fail?

The MVA did not have the goal of defeating the BJP. They wanted to save their own skins from inquiries. Therefore, in many places, it is a compromise candidate. In Kalyan, Shiv Sena (UBT) has done it. Buldhana is the same. Congress has done it on three seats, Nanded, Ramtek, and Bhandaragondia. I can point this out in many places. They wanted to block the VBA by offering two seats so that they could settle with the BJP and save

their skin from inquiries. That seems to be the primary intention of shutting the doors on us.

You have said that MVA has made the term ‘match-fixing’ a reality in Maharashtra.

Yes, it is match-fixing. Wherever compromise candidates have been

put up, it is match-fixing.

Now that you are not part of the MVA, why have you decided to support NCP (SP) and Congress in a select few seats like Baramati, Kolhapur, and Nagpur? Doesn’t this send mixed signals to your voters?

We supported the NCP (SP) because a senior leader like Jayant Patil requested that we not put up a candidate in Baramati. For Nagpur, there were hints from the Congress that we should not field our candidate. We believe in Shahu Maharaj’s philosophy, so we support the family (Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) in Kolhapur. This doesn’t send mixed signals. We have announced candidates in the rest of the constituencies.

Is there any scope left for any recon– ciliation with the MVA after polls?

After polls, anything is possible. You don’t make permanent enemies in politics. They are temporary enemies.

You won the Akola LS seat in 1998 and 1999. Why couldn’t you repeat that performance thereafter?

In this constituency, there has been an understanding between the BJP and Congress. My first election was in 1984 after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and I lost it by a small margin. In that election, the BJP transferred its votes to Congress to defeat me. The Congress returned the favour in the next election (which the BJP won). When they found that it was becoming impossible to restrain me, they started disturbing my Muslim support by putting up Muslim candidates.

Has politics in Maharashtra entered the ‘post-ideology’ era?

This is similar to what we had in 1967 of “syndicate-indicate”. After the split in Congress, Indira Gandhi won the 1971 election and survived, while (former Karnataka CM) S Nijalingappa lost. So, here, you have to wait and see if Eknath Shinde wins or Uddhav Thackeray wins, whether Ajit Pawar wins or Sharad Pawar wins. Whoever wins will survive. Whoever loses will perish.