Prakash Ambedkar denies tweeting about political slavery'

Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar has denied a tweet in which it is stated that, henceforth, any alliance talks with the Congress would be on an equal footing. The reason is that the system of political slavery with the Congress party has ended now, according to the tweet.

Though Mr Ambedkar has denied this tweet, he confirmed that he would be holding a meeting next week with his party men to discuss the strategy for the upcoming Assembly election.

The VBA had already announced that it would contest all 288 Assembly seats. When this paper asked whether he would initiate legal action against the person who had tweeted from his account, Mr Ambedkar said he did not want to pursue this matter.

The VBA, an alliance between Prakash Ambedkar’s Bharip Bahuj Mahasangh and Asaduddin Owaisi led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), have damaged the prospects of Congress-NCP alliance in close to eight seats in Maharashtra.

The VBA had secured 2.97 lakh in a dozen Lok Sabha constituencies, including the Gadchiroli-Chimur, Hatkanangle, Buldhana, Akola, Nanded, Hingoli, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Sangli, Nashik, Latur and Solapur seats.

The VBP leader said, “The VBA leaders are meeting next week to hold a discussion over the strategy of the party for the Assembly election. A discussion would also be held over whether to make an alliance with any political parties or not.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena alliance bagged 41 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. While the Congress won one, the NCP managed to win four seats. AIMIM’s Imitiaz Jaleel, a journalist-turned-MLA, won from Aurangabad, defeating Shiv Sena’s four-time MP Chandrakant Khaire. Mr Ambedkar himself had contested from Akola and Solapur and lost from both constituencies.

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