Ambedkar meets Pawar, denies any pact with INDIA alliance

Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday denied that he held any discussions with Sharad Pawar in connection with joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi and I.N.D.I.A. alliance. He said does not think Congress and NCP will take any decision before assembly polls in five states.

Mr. Ambedkar met Mr. Pawar on Saturday at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre at Nariman Point in Mumbai. He was at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre to attend a function — ‘Unleashing India’s Economic Potential: Dr Ambedkar’s Legacy Lives’. Mr. Pawar and his daughter and NCP National Working President Supriya Sule were also present.  At the request of Ms. Sule, Mr. Ambedkar later went to the office of Mr. Pawar in the same complex.

“There were 15 more people. We had coffee in Mr. Pawar’s office after the inaugural session of the event,” Mr. Ambedkar said.

Mr. Ambedkar has been insisting the Congress and NCP to include his party in the MVA and I.N.D.I.A. alliance. However, he has not received any positive response so far. He has also announced that the VBA will contest all 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra as the Congress and Mr. Pawar have not responded to his proposal.

Mr. Ambedkar’s decision to go it alone can cause process to MVA’s aspirations in Maharashtra. While the VBA does not have a single MP or MLA in Maharashtra, the party has significant influence in certain pockets. As per the records of the Election Commission of India, the VBA had secured more than 37 lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, which was nearly seven per cent of the total valid votes polled in Maharashtra. Mr. Ambedkar was the runner up in Akola ahead of Congress’s Hidayatullah Barakatullah Patel.

Reacting to the meeting, veteran Congressman and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said: “I came to know about the meeting through TV channels. It is definitely a good sign. I welcome it. Two big leaders have met together. Though no politics was discussed, it is a positive signal…If an alliance takes place, it would surely send good signals in Maharashtra and there would be an impact in the elections.”