Mumbai: Virtually ruling out the possibility of joining hands with the Opposition’s grand alliance, Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar said that his front would contest all 48 seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. “No further talks will be held with the Congress leadership,” he said.
“Several proposals were made for forging an alliance with the Congress but nothing came out of it. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has already announced candidates in 22 seats and will declare the remaining names soon. We will contest all 48 seats in Maharashtra,” said Mr Ambedkar in Akola Tuesday.
Mr Ambedkar is likely to contest the Solapur seat against senior Congress leader and former Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde in the LS polls.
Mr Ambedkar’s decision to fight independently is expected to affect the Congress and NCP heavily. For the Lok Sabha polls, he has forged an alliance of his Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh party with the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen in Maharashtra.
Their rallies have been receiving good support from the Dalit and Muslim community, which is the traditional vote bank of the Congress.
