VBA to contest 90 seats in BMC polls

The BMC elections are one of the prestigious, with a budget of approximately ₹39,000 crore, and give a lot of clout to the political parties.

The Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) plans to contest 80-90 seats in the forthcoming 2022 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls. The VBA plans to contest seats which have a substantial number of Dalit and Muslim population.

(Hindustan Times)

The BMC elections are one of the prestigious, with a budget of approximately ₹39,000 crore, and give a lot of clout to the political parties. “We have built a formidable combination of Dalit, OBCs (Other backward Classes) and Muslim votebank,” said VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar. “Currently the Muslims have no alternative as the Congress is highly weakened and they are looking at VBA as their best choice,” said Ambedkar.

The VBA plans to contest in areas like Chembur, Govandi, Kurla, Bhandup, Vile Parle, Borivali, Dadar, Kandivali and Jogeshwari. “Our workers have done excellent work at the grassroot level and we plan to contest at least 80-90 seats in the BMC polls. We are confident of winning a minimum of 40 seats,” he added.

Ambedkar ruled out any truck with the BJP, but said he was ready for an alliance with the Congress, but on respectable terms.

Political experts said though Ambedkar commands respect among the Dalit masses, it is unlikely to translate into votes. “The BMC elections are fought on strong ground level network and not on caste combinations,” said political commentator Surendra Jondhale. “VBA does not have a strong organisational network and there is no consistent mobilisation from their end. In the past one year, they have hardly raised issues concerning Dalits, OBCs and Muslims who were affected due to the Covid-19 lockdown,” he added.

Ambedkar, who was marginalised for years, shot into limelight due to the January 1, 2018 incident, when Dalits were attacked at Bhima-Koregaon. Ambedkar took the lead and announced a state-wide bandh, which proved to be a success. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the VBA, in alliance with the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), polled 41.08 lakh (7.63%) votes in the state. While the AIMIM won the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat, the votes bagged by VBA candidates led to the defeat of two former chief ministers, Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde, in Nanded and Solapur, respectively.

However, in the Assembly polls held just months later, Ambedkar broke the alliance with AIMIM. The VBA also failed to strike an alliance with the Congress as it said it will give 144 seats of the total 288 to the latter. It said of the 144 seats, the Congress needs to accommodate even the NCP. In the final tally, the VBA was wiped out, as it failed to bag a single seat.

The Congress said it was unfortunate that Ambedkar has still not learnt his lesson. “Ambedkar’s aim is just to help the BJP indirectly and this is evident as he plans to contest in such seats where we are strong. However, the voters have seen through his gameplan and will not vote for the VBA. Even last time, Ambedkar put impossible conditions before the polls for an alliance as he was not interested in any alliance. It is unfortunate that despite failing last time in the Assembly polls, the VBA has still not learnt its lessons,” said Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.