Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Meet the leader: Prakash Ambedkar

The grandson of Bhimrao Ambedkar and a lawyer by profession, Prakash Ambedkar, the President of Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi, stirred controversy last year when he bowed before the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and also defended the historical significance of the emperor’s 50-year rule.

Political Party: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi

Parliamentary Constituency: Akola, Maharashtra

With distinguished political acumen and sharp negotiation skills he acquired through a career in the political, social and activism domain, VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar is committed to the Dalit-Ambedkarite-Republican cause.

The grandson of Bhimrao Ambedkar and a lawyer by profession, he has taken up several important causes, including the Rohit Vemula suicide case and the Bhima-Koregaon case.

Ambedkar (69), founded the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) in 1994, which had its roots in the Republican Party of India. BBM merged into the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), a political party he founded in 2019.

Ahead of the LS and Maharashtra Assembly polls, VBA — which comprises various groups of Dalits, tribals, Dhangars, Kolis, Agris, Banjaras, Malis, Kaikadis and other communities — has floated the Third Front, which may play a spoilsport for both MVA-I.N.D.I.A bloc and Maha Yuti.

In 2017, Prakash alongside his son Sujat, relaunched Prabuddh Bharat (Enlightened India), a newspaper founded by B R Ambedkar.

He stirred controversy last year when he bowed before the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and also defended the historical significance of the emperor’s 50-year rule.

In 1998 and 1999, he won the LS polls from Akola and was a one-term RS member. However, he lost the seat later.

With plans to recontest the same seat, Ambedkar can spring many more surprises.