Tushar Gandhi Urges People Against Splitting Votes

Mumbai: Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, on Friday urged people not to vote for Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA and AIMIM. He said voting for the two parties would help the Bharatiya Janata Party. Hitting back at Mr. Gandhi, the VBA said that there were attempts to paint Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as a British agent in history and a similar narrative is being used against his grandson.

Mr. Gandhi claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha election is a fight to save the Constitution written by Dr. Ambedkar. “People should not repeat the mistakes of the past. They should vote for the Maha Vikas Aghadi to defeat the BJP-led alliance. Voting for the VBA or even AIMIM will benefit the BJP,” he said.

However, Mr. Ambedkar responded saying that Mr. Gandh’s statement is untrue and baseless. “If you don’t have political acumen, then don’t waste your time in making illogical statements and baseless allegations.

Mr. Ambedkar further alleged that there is a secret understanding between the MVA and BJP. “Truth will come out with time. Clear indications are already there. Do not make uniform statements and create confusion,” he added without naming Mr. Gandhi.

VBA spokesperson Siddharth Mokale alleged that Mr. Gandhi’s statement was aimed at finishing the politics of Mr. Ambedkar, who is trying to build a force of exploited and deprived people. He further indicated that the Congress leaders had used similar tactics against Dr. Ambedkar.

“The established political parties and leaders always want to ensure that the exploited and deprived people do not get a chance to create a political force. Dr. Ambedkar’s politics was opposed in the same way. In history, there were attempts to prove him a British agent. Similar things are being done against Prakash Ambedkar,” the VBA spokesperson said.

Mr. Mokale further pointed out that several leaders from Congress and BJP brazenly changed their parties, but Mr. Gandhi never raised a voice against them. Can Mr. Gandhi guarantee that no Congress leader will join the BJP in the future, he asked.