Ambedkar's front will eat into vote bank of alliances

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) founded by three-time MP Prakash Ambedkar has created a major dent in the vote bank of both the alliances in Maharashtra: the BJP-Shiv Sena led five-party alliance and the Congress-NCP led 56-party front.

Ambedkar is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution. The VBA was formed as an expansion of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) — a Republican faction of which Ambedkar is founder president, with a strategic alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) and inclusion of various groups of Dalits, Tribals, Dhangars, Kolis, Agris, Banjaras, Malis, Kaikadis and other communities.

While the Muslim-Dalit vote bank of the Congress-NCP has suffered a dent, the BJP-Sena alliance appears to have lost some communities like Dhangars, Agris and Kolis.

Prakash Ambedkar is contesting from Solapur (SC) in Western Maharashtra and Akola in Vidarbha region. "Our fight is with the BJP (and Shiv Sena alliance) and not the Congress (and NCP alliance)," Ambedkar has been telling in his rallies. He has also denied that he was Team-B of the BJP, as the Congress has accused him of.

"The information that we received from the three phases of polling in 31 of the 48 seats, we have very good reports. The Congress-NCP will suffer in 10 to 15 seats because of VBA," a close aide of Ambedkar told DH on Thursday.

Veteran political analyst Jatin Desai said that definitely VBA has made its presence felt in the elections. "The Muslim community would do a strategic voting... the Congress-NCP's Dalit votebank would suffer," said Desai, who extensively travels across Maharashtra.

VBA sources say they are hoping to win at three to four seats, including Akola and Solapur, where Ambedkar is contesting besides Yavatmal-Washim and Aurangabad.

In Akola, Ambedkar is pitted against Hidayat Patel, the only Muslim candidate of the Congress in the state, and Sanjay Dhotre of the BJP. Ambedkar has won the Akola seat twice, in 1998 and 1999.

In Solapur (SC) he is pitted against Congress veteran Sushilkumar Shinde, an ex-chief minister and former home minister and the BJP's Dr Jaisiddheshwar Shivacharya Mahaswami, a Lingayat seer of Beda Jangam community.

In Yavatmal-Washim, it is a contest between four-time Shiv Sena MP Bhawana Gawali, former state Congress president Manikrao Thakre, Prof Pravin Pawar of VBA and Vaishali Yede, the wife of a farmer who had committed suicide.

Vaishali, an anganwadi worker, shot into fame when she was asked to inaugurate the 92nd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan when local groups opposed Nayantara Sehgal. She has the support of Prahar Janshakti Paksha, Vidarbha Nirman MahaManch (VNM), a pro-Vidarbha group.