Can Prakash Ambedkar's VBA play a spoiler for Maha Vikas Aghadi, Maha Yuti in Maharashtra?

The grand third front being stitched together in Maharashtra by Prakash Ambedkar has raised concerns for the two diametrically-opposite coalitions - ruling Maha Yuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

In the process, Ambedkar, who is camping in Akola, is in touch with Jalna-based Shivba Sanghatana founder Manoj Jarange-Patil, the face of the Maratha reservation campaign.

A veteran of state politics, Ambedkar (69) is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution of India.

A lawyer by profession, Ambedkar is a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Akola and one-term Rajya Sabha MP.

Committed to the Dalit-Ambedkarite-Republican cause, Ambedkar has floated Bhatia Bahujan Mahasangh and later Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), which included various groups of Dalits, Tribals, Dhangars, Kolis, Agris, Banjaras, Malis, Kaikadis and other communities.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, VBA had an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM).

While AIMIM's Maharashtra unit president and journalist-turned-politician Imtiaz Jaleel won the Aurangabad seat, the VBA lost all 47 seats, but damaged the prospects of Congress-NCP Democratic Front in over a dozen seats by making a dent in their Dalit-Muslim vote-bank and BJP in one place.

Ambedkar himself contested the Akola and Solapur seats, however, he lost both of them.

Two former Congress CMs - Sushilkumar Shinde (Solapur) and Ashok Chavan (Nanded) lost the polls because of VBA. Chavan is now a BJP Rajya Sabha member.

In the subsequent 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls, the VBA-AIMIM alliance broke - but not without dealing a blow to the Congress-NCP alliance.

According to Ambedkar, the VBA has garnered 6.98 and 5.57 percentage vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls, respectively.

Jarange-Patil is expected to announce his stand by the weekend - and if the Third Front takes shape, as claimed by Ambedkar, it is going to affect both the alliances, particularly the MVA. The VBA is also in touch with veteran OBC leader Prakash Shendage, who heads OBC Bahujan Party.

The VBA, however, has announced support to two Congress candidates - Vikas Thakare in Nagpur and Shrimant Shri Shahu Shahaji Chhatrapati Maharaj, the 12th descendent of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who is the Congress-MVA candidate.

Shri Shahu Shahaji Chhatrapati’s grandfather Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur, the legendary democrat and social reformer, had worked closely with Ambedkar’s grandfather Babasaheb Ambedkar.

While the VBA-MVA alliance talks failed, Ambedkar also snapped ties with Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). Thackeray's grandfather Prabodhankar Thackeray and Ambedkar's grandfather Babasaheb Ambedkar, had taken up causes of social reforms together.