Ambedkar blames Muslims for VBA’s failure in Lok Sabha polls

Commenting on the upcoming Assembly elections, he said, “Muslims now have an alternative in the form of VBA, which is a major force in the state and is capable of taking on the BJPShiv Sena combine.

Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Tuesday blamed Muslim voters for his front’s, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), failure to win a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections. VBA’s ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ulMuslimeen (AIMIM), however, got its first MP, Imtiyaz Jaleel, in Aurangabad.

Amedkar said the VBAwas formed to represent Dalits, OBC’s, Dhangars and Muslims, and had the potential to alter the political landscape of the state. (Rahul Raut/HT File Photo)

“The results would have been different if Muslims had voted for us,” said Ambedkar. “Religious leaders of the community were urging Muslims to vote for the Congress. Some even issued such a diktat. We had to bear the brunt of it.”

Commenting on the upcoming Assembly elections, he said, “Muslims now have an alternative in the form of VBA, which is a major force in the state and is capable of taking on the BJPShiv Sena combine. They need to take a decision.”

He said the VBA, formed last year to represent Dalits, other backward classes, Dhangars and Muslims, had the potential to alter the political landscape of the state. In this Lok Sabha elections, the VBA was able to gather substantial votes, which caused the defeat of the Congress-NCP combine in nine seats. Two former Congress chief ministers Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde lost due to the split in votes by the VBA.