Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi damage runs deep in Maharashtra

The 14% vote share achieved by the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) had rattled the political spectrum of Maharashtra.

The VBA had contested all the 48 seats in the state and if one considers the vote share, it's going to be a major player in the coming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly that comprises of 288 seats.

"We may contest all the seats," Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, said.

The indication of contest all seats have come from Asaduddin Owaisi, the founder of All Indian Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the main ally of Ambedkar's new formation.

"We will fight the Assembly polls with our strength," he said.

The Ambedkar-Owaisi grouping had damaged Congress' vote bank in Lok Sabha polls, senior leaders said, adding that seven Congress leaders and one BJP MP lost the polls because of VBA candidates.

"It can translate into bigger damage in the Assembly polls," a close aide of Ambedkar told DH on Saturday.

According to him, the VBA was keen that it had an alliance with the Congress-NCP but it is because of the Congress that the talks failed.

"We have been telling from day one that we have competition from the BJP and not from the Congress," he said.

Parties — Votes polled and vote share:

BJP - 1,49,12,139 (27.59%)

Sena - 1,25,89,064 (23.29%)

Congress - 87,92,273 (16.27%)

NCP - 83,87,363 (15.52%)

VBA - 41,32,446 (14%)