Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar Sunday on claimed Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole re fused to contest Lok Sabha election from Bhandara- Gondiya seat as he was not keen to fight against the BJP.
Addressing a press conference, Ambedkar asked if some leaders and workers in Congress have a "secret relationship" with the saffron party in Nagpur and other seats.
He also wondered if there is "match-fixing" for Nanded constituency between Patole and BJP leader Ashok Chavan, a former Congressman.
"Nana Patole withdrew from the Bhandara-Gondiya contest even after Congress asked him to fight elections. It seems Patole doesn't want to fight against the BJP. Does it mean that some leaders of Congress have a secret relationship with BJP leaders?" he asked.
Ambedkar-led VBA recent ly decided against aligning with Maha Vikas Aghadi for the Lok Sabha election follow- ing a disagreement over the sharing of seats.
The Congress has fielded Prashant Padole against sitting Bhandara-Gondiya MP Sunil Mendhe of BJP.
Ambedkar further claimed Patole was saddened due to the support extended by VBA to Congress in the Nagpur constituency, where Union minister and BJP MP Nitin Gadkari is in the fray.
"Nana Patole is feeling sad as he thinks Gadkari will lose. He is not feeling happy that the Congress candidate will win in Nagpur because of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's support. I wonder whether Patole is with Congress or with Gadkari," said Ambedkar.
He also hinted at "match fixing" in Nanded contituency between Ashok Chavan and Patole.
VBA declares 11 more nominees
The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) on Sunday declared its second list of 11 candidates from Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. With this, the VBA has so far declared 20 candidates. The 11 constituencies include Hingoli, Latur, Solapur, Madha, Satara, Dhule, Hatkanangale, Raver, Jalna, Mumbai North Central, and Ratnagiri- Sindhudurg. The VBA last week released its first list of nine candidates, fielding Ambedkar from Akola, signalling the outfit is no longer pursuing an alliance with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
