In March, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) snapped ties with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and decided to go solo in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
In 2019, the VBA and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had fought together. The VBA and MVA have been in talks for an alliance since 2019. Now, after the VBA decided to fight it out alone, political observers believe it would give the BJP an edge, as the regional party has considerable support among the Dalits, particularly among the neo-Buddhists, who constitute about 6 per cent of voters in Maharashtra.
In an interview with The Telegraph at his residence in Akola a few days before the constituency went to polls on April 26, VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar counted the reasons behind breaking the alliance with the MVA and its impact in terms of division of votes. Excerpts:
How many seats will the VBA contest in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls and what is your strategy?
We are fighting on 40 seats. I will visit all the constituencies to campaign.
What are the chances of success of the VBA candidates since you are fighting on your own against the MVA and the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde)-NCP (Ajit Pawar) alliance?
I do not want to predict anything. People are fed up with the BJP. People are leaving the election meetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At the Chandrapur rally, people left before he finished his speech. BJP has done nothing in the last 10 years.
How do you counter the BJP whose workers are projecting the construction of the Ram temple, abrogation of Article 370, and enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as major achievements of the Modi government?
The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is not peaceful even after the abrogation of Article 370. Elections to the Assembly are not being held in Kashmir because the situation is not under control. As far as Ram temple is concerned, there are Ram temples in every village of the country. It was the Supreme Court which passed the decision on Ram temple. The BJP has zero contribution. India has failed to deal with Pakistan appropriately. So, the BJP is a declining force.
There are concerns among several civil society groups that the Constitution could be amended in a major way if the BJP retains power. The government has denied it. Do you see such a possibility?
Parakala Prabhakar (the husband of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman) has said that the Constitution will change if Modi comes to power (again). I agree with him. Nobody likes to give up their rights to freedom of expression or equality. If they change the Constitution and freedom, equality, and liberty are taken away, there will be civil war.
What about Opposition parties’ allegations of misuse of investigation agencies against their leaders?
Once they (BJP) lose power, half their leaders will flee the nation fearing imprisonment. What happened to the Nazis after Hitler, the same thing will happen to them.
There is a narrative that India’s stature grew globally under Modi. Do you agree?
About 16 lakh Indians have given up citizenship in the last 10 years. They have all settled abroad and most of them are Hindus. People who were responsible citizens of India are now preferring to live as non-entities abroad.
When you have so many problems with the BJP, what are the reasons for not fighting as a united force against the party? Why did you move away from a possible alliance with the MVA?
The MVA was fighting among themselves to have an alliance with us. They couldn’t decide. So, we decided to take on the BJP ourselves. We are no longer interested in such an alliance.
It is widely viewed that this decision of not having an alliance with the MVA will benefit the BJP. What do you have to say?
You people (media) should do your job. People are leaving Modi’s rallies. You show that. VBA is a rising force and the BJP is declining.
Maharashtra votes in five phases from April 19 to May 20
