Amid intense war of words in the opposition camp, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder-president Prakash Ambedkar pitched for inclusion on the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Over the last week, there has been hectic political developments after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and Ambedkar formally entered into an alliance ahead of the local bodies polls in Maharashtra and in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls.
“I am very clear…if we all (NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena and VBA) together contest the polls we would cross 200…and if Shiv Sena and VBA contest together we would cross 150,” Ambedkar told reporters.
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Speaking further, he said: “It is Thackeray who would be convincing them, but they (Congress and NCP) would have to take a final call (on the alliance).”
When asked whether VBA would be included in MVA, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said: “When there are no discussions, where is the question of accepting or not.”
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Senior leaders of the NCP and Congress maintained that the alliance of VBA is limited to Shiv Sena group led by Thackeray and the other partners and allies have nothing to do with it.
It may be mentioned ever since the Shiv Sena and VBA had an alliance, Ambedkar, a two-time Lok Sabha MP and one-term Rajya Sabha MP, has been hitting out at Congress and NCP and accused them of a proposed alliance involving Congress-NCP-VBA failing before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.