Mumbai: Though the numbers of votes do not support claims of a solid alliance between Prakash Ambedkar’s Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) and Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the state, but the perception game has started with prospects of damage that this alliance could cause to the main opposition parties in the upcoming elections. Both parties will try to create a dalit-muslim combine, which could divide the votes of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-led alliance. The Congress, meanwhile has said that it will try to get Mr Ambedkar on board to avoid this division of votes.
Mr Ambedkar’s BBM and Mr Owaisi’s AIMIM have decided to join hands for polls in Maharashtra. The Lok Sabha elections in the state will be held in May next year, followed by the assembly polls in October. The alliance is being seen as solid combination of both their communities, dalit and muslim. As the political identities of both communities have sharpened over the last four years, this alliance could be the game changer.
The numbers of votes received by both parties are negligible compared to the buzz they achieved. Both parties won 0.9 per cent votes in 2014 assembly elections.
So the tally of their votes goes up to 1.8 per cent in 2014, which is significantly less than even Bahujan Samaj Paksh, which won 2.3 per cent votes. BBM has one MLA in the current assembly and AIMIM two.
“In the perception battle, Mr Ambedkar and Mr Owaisi will try to capture the space occupied by the Congress and NCP. They will try to malign these principal opposition parties. But if the voter perceives it as a vote divider, then this alliance will have less impact than the media attention its getting,” said senior political expert Anant Dikshit.
Meanwhile, adopting a cautious posture, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan said, “We will try to avoid the division of secular votes. We will try to talk to Prakash Ambedkarji.”
