E-Paper
Prakash Ambedkar to go it alone
Prakash Ambedkar has decided to go alone in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra and has committed himself in contesting all 48 seats in the state.
Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and president of the Republican Party of India’s Bahujan Mahasangh has decided to go alone in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra and has committed himself in contesting all 48 seats in the state.
Ambedkar, a one-time ally of the Congress and NCP, made this decision a few days before the Congress-NCP announce their seat sharing for the upcoming elections.
“We are against any BJP or Congress-led government in Delhi. We will contest all 48 seats in the state along with like minded forces,” Ambedkar said as he announced the names of 19 candidates who will fight under the aegis of his faction.
Ambedkar’s decision to announce candidates a few days before the Congress-NCP’s announcement of their candidates list, is being seen as a pressure tactic by the leader into forcing the Cong-NCP of allotting the Akola seat to him as a coalition partner.
Ambedkar had fought the 2004 elections against his partners and had lost.
However, leaders like Sharad Pawar are pretty keen on getting Ambedkar back into the coalition fold and had even spoken about finding a way of giving the Akola seat to him. Ambedkar also seems to have taken care of not completely burning bridges with the NCP saying that he would support Pawar in his endeavor of the PMs chair.
With a 13 per cent dalit population in Maharashtra, Prakash Amdedkar is one of the prominent Dalit leader who are being wooed by political parties in the state.
