Mumbai: Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday said that he is keen on joining hands with the Congress but not with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Mr Ambedkar was speaking to the press in Mumbai at his office after he had announced joining hands with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) for the elections in the future.
“I have joined hands with AIMIM and now have kept the door open for joining hands with Congress. But I am not comfortable with the NCP as its Lok Sabha member from Satara talks in favour of Sambhaji Bhide,” Mr Ambedkar said.
Mr Bhide is one of the prime accused right-wing leaders who is facing charges for allegedly inciting violence in Bhima-Koregaon village near Pune in January this year.
The NCP’s Lok Sabha member Udayanraje Bhosale has been vocal about his support to Bhide, who has influence over a couple of districts in the state. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mr Bhosale had made a point that Bhide would join him in the campaign in the last leg to gain political support from Bhide’s followers
“We are ready to forge an alliance with Congress even on the last day of submission of nominations for candidates,” Mr Ambedkar said.
Asked about the reasons behind his strong opposition to the NCP, he said, “Congress should assure us of NCP not aligning itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Then we will decide.”
Commenting on NCP chief Sharad Pawar, he said, “Pawar is himself is a secular leader but his party is not. After the 2014 Assembly election, Shiv Sena was not keen on extending support to the BJP. But because of pressure from MLAs, Mr Pawar extended support to the BJP for a month. Hence, we cannot join hands with NCP.” Mr Ambedkar said.
Seat sharing
As The Asian Age reported earlier, Mr Ambedkar met Congress leaders Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Manikrao Thakre on Thursday in Mumbai. The Congress leadership has reached out to Mr Ambedkar for an alliance. Sources said that Mr Ambedkar has put forth a demand for 17 Lok Sabha seats out of 48 in Maharashtra. Mr Vikhe-Patil assured him of a discussion within the party on his demand.
