The former Lok Sabha member and the Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale on Thursday asserted that nobody could prevent him from forging an alliance between the Shiv Sena, BJP and RPI, which would contest against the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combination in Maharashtra in the ensuing elections.
Addressing a massive joint workers’ meeting of Sena-BJP and RPI here this evening, he said that the present Congress-NCP alliance would be thrown out by the new alliance in the coming elections.
He also lashed out at deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar for criticising Balasaheb Thackeray and said that the NCP and its leaders were panicking, as they knew that the alliance could be a serious threat to them in state politics.
Athawale said that for two decades, the RPI was stuck with the Congress’ ideology. “The Congress would rely on dalit votes in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, but would forget us in local body elections. This stunted RPI’s growth at the grassroots and caused disarray in dalit leadership,” he said.
Defending the alliance, he said, “I will never deviate from the Ambedkar-Phule ideology. On February 25, I just happened to pay a courtesy visit to Balasaheb Thackeray, as it was his birthday. In conversation, he remarked that Shiv Shakti (represented by the Sena) could work wonders with Bhim Shakti (Ambedkar’s ideology). The idea appealed to many party colleagues and the BJP was also roped in.” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Defending the alliance, he said, “I will never deviate from the Ambedkar-Phule ideology. On February 25, I just happened to pay a courtesy visit to Balasaheb Thackeray, as it was his birthday. In conversation, he remarked that Shiv Shakti (represented by the Sena) could work wonders with Bhim Shakti (Ambedkar’s ideology). The idea appealed to many party colleagues and the BJP was also roped in.” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“This new combination is being tested to find social, economic possibilities to uplift the dalits, who have remained in the obscurity, ditched by vote-bank politics of the Congress and the NCP. We want to see the Congress and the NCP out of power, to pay its price for ignoring the dalits, on whose votes they rule the state and the country,” he added.
He also urged his workers to join the proposed massive rally against corruption in Mumbai on June 9.