On Tuesday, Asaduddin Owaisi, president of AIMIM, confirmed his party’s support for Prakash Ambedkar, leader of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, who is contesting for the Akola Lok Sabha seat.
Notably, the AIMIM and VBA had formed an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but the partnership ended during the Maharashtra assembly elections later that year.
We believe the leadership of Dalits should come up. I appeal to the AIMIM team from Akola to vote for Prakash Ambedkar,” Owaisi said.
He stated that the All India Majlis E. Ittehadul Muslimeen will run in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from Pune and nominated Anis Sundke.
Owaisi tried to reach out to Maratha quota leader Manoj Jarange, saying, “A person with a thin physique has shaken the state government. I was expecting that Jarange would form a political party. Because justice will only come after forming a political party and winning elections.”.
Owaisi alleged all parties are ganging up against Aurangabad MP Imtiaz Jaleel, who belongs to AIMIM, in the elections. Imtiyaz Jaleel is heading the party in Maharashtra and will also seek a second term from the Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency.
“Two Shiv Senas, two NCPs, the BJP, and half the Congress have come together. People should ask them about their stand on CAA, NRC, and NPR,” he added.
In an interview with the frontline magazine, Prakash Ambedkar, the leader of VBA, was asked if the CaA NRC would be an issue in the elections, to which he replied, “Muslims have united now. This time, they are not voting for Congress. They will vote for the party that is going to defeat the BJP.”
In the interview, Ambedkar showed his optimism towards the 2024 general election and how it will reflect the public’s unwillingness to see Narendra Modi return as Prime Minister. He believes that after the election, the VBA will be in a stronger position, with results due on June 4.
In the last general elections, the combination of AIMIM and VBA defeated the Congress-NCP candidates in 11 constituencies across the state by eating into their vote share. The VBA and AIMIM alliance were able to poll 41.08 lakh votes, thus bringing their tally to 7.53% of the total votes polled in the state. Their candidates ensured the defeat of two former chief ministers, Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde.
