Maharashtra Assembly polls | Maha Yuti, Maha Vikas Aghadi face challenges from emerging parallel fronts

Mumbai: The ruling Maha Yuti (NDA) and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are facing challenges from the emerging parallel smaller fronts in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.

Many of the aspirants of the ruling and opposition coalitions who may not be getting tickets would jump ship and join the smaller groupings, leaders of Maha Yuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi told DH as seat-sharing talks gathered steam.

One of the fronts is floated by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar, who is bringing together groups of Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and Muslims. Ambedkar has the support of Tuleshwar Markam, president of the Gondwana Gantantra Party; Sunil Gaikwad from the Bharat Adivasi Party, Madhav Tekam from the Kolam Aadim Jamat Sangh among others.

Another front is floated as Parivartan Mahashakti - which includes Swaraj founder Yuvraj Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, a descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Bacchu Kadu, the founder of Prahar Janshakti and Raju Shetti of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

It may be mentioned, last month Sambhaji Raje had held discussions with Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is likely to field candidates.

Sambhaji Raje, who hails from the Kolhapur royal family, requested Jarange-Patil and Ambedkar to be part of the front.

Ambedkar, however, has maintained a distance with Jarange-Patil and has backed the OBCs who fear that the Maratha reservation through the Kunbi route would dilute the quota of the backward classes.

Sambhaji Raje, a former President-nominated Rajya Sabha member, Kadu and Shetti all had experience of being associated with different political groupings.

The MVA comprises the Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) while the ruling alliance consists of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

Sambhaji Raje’s father Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj is the Congress MP from Kolhapur and during the Lok Sabha polls, Ambedkar has backed him.

The Kolhapur royal family and Ambedkar family share a unique relationship. Kolhapur has its own significance as it is from here that Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj undertook social reform movement and one of the earliest concepts of reservation. Shahu Maharaj was closely associated with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, who was the chief architect of the Constitution of India.

When Shinde raised a banner of revolt against Thackeray, Kadu was among the first to join him. However, he was not given a ministerial berth.