VBA offers support to Congress in 7 LS seats
MUMBAI: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar has offered his support to Congress candidates in seven of the total Lok Sabha constituencies allocated to the party as part of a seat-sharing deal among the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners.
In a letter sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday, Ambedkar expressed displeasure over VBA’S exclusion from meetings that MVA leaders were holding over LS seats.
“Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) have refused to listen to VBA’S representatives in the numerous MVA meetings. We have lost faith in both these parties due to their attitude towards VBA,” he wrote.
Ambedkar’s offer to Congress came after the MVA leaders gave him a final offer of four seats since they are suspicious that he is not serious about joining the opposition coalition. However, Ambedkar has been demanding 12 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats to join MVA.
Significantly, it was Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray who first joined hands with Ambedkar in January 2023. Later, Thackeray and NCP founder Sharad Pawar convinced Congress leadership to accommodate Ambedkar in MVA as state Congress leaders had reservations about him. But Tuesday’s letter is seen as his latest attempt to forge an alliance with Congress while sidelining Thackeray and Pawar.
Despite his differences with MVA, Ambedkar participated in the INDIA block rally at Shivaji Park on Sunday.
“It was a pleasure to meet you and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. But we couldn’t talk in detail. So, I am writing this letter to offer my support to Congress in seven Lok Sabha constituencies. Please give me a list of seven constituencies of your choice,” Ambedkar said in his letter to Kharge.
He also said he would be interested in an alliance with Congress even in the future. “This proposal from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi to the Indian National Congress is not only in goodwill but also an extension of a friendly hand for a possible alliance in the future.”
Congress has not responded to Ambedkar’s offer yet.
Later, Ambedkar said at a press conference that he had kept the doors open for an alliance with MVA till the last moment.