In the run up to the upcoming civic and local body elections, the Shiv Sena, which is heading the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, may get a new ally- the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), in addition to NCP and Congress. VBA founder Prakash Ambedkar on Wednesday hinted about the possible tie-up with Shiv Sena. ‘’Shiv Sena President and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had recently called me to discuss the alliance between Shiv Sena and VBA. We can form an alliance with Shiv Sena which should decide whether to do it now or not,’’ said Ambedkar. ‘’Uddhav Thackeray did call me for discussion on alliance but he did not dare to speak about this,’’ he noted.
Ambedkar’s statement has once again revived the possible tie-up between the Shiv Shakti and Bhim Shakti. Earlier, Shiv Sena had an alliance with the Republican Party of India led by union minister Ramdas Athawale who parted ways to have tie-up with the BJP.
‘’I know Uddhav Thackeray very well and we respect each other. I had a good relationship with the Shiv Sena Chief Balasaheb Thackeray. Now it is up to Uddhav Thackeray to tie-up with VBA or not. It seems they only want to have friendship and not alliance with me,’’ said Ambedkar.
Ambedkar said the VBA has also expressed its desire to ally with the Congress. ‘’The proposal has already been made but there is no reply from the Congress yet. I am waiting for responses from Shiv Sena and Congress for alliance,’’ he added. ‘’Nobody wants to have a marriage with me, they just want to walk with them,’’ he claimed.
VBA had tied up with Asaduddin Owaisi led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and got 7.08% of votes in seats it had contested. In the 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, VBA did not tie-up with AIMIM but got 4.6% of votes. VBA failed to open its account in the state assembly poll.
