Ambedkar’s pact with AIMIM stumps Cong

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 16

Stumped by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar stitching an alliance with the Owaisi brothers ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Congress has called him for talks.

Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan told the media he was taken by surprise when Ambedkar announced his Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) was forging an alliance with the AIMIM. “We want to stitch an alliance with Ambedkar. He should not rush into one with the AIMIM,” Chavan remarked. He said the Congress wanted a broad secular coalition to take on the BJP and the Shiv Sena in the coming elections. AIMIM leaders say the tie-up with Ambedkar’s BMM will be formally sealed at a rally to be organised by both parties on October 2.

As per the proposal mooted by the AIMIM leadership in Maharashtra, Ambedkar will lead the third front which will help the Dalits, Muslims and OBCs fight for their share of power. Imtiaz Jaleel, the journalist-turned-MLA belonging to the AIMIM, is said to be the brain behind the move.

The soft-spoken Prakash, who is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, has been unable to make much headway in Maharashtra politics. However, the Maharashtra bandh called by the BMM

on January 1 following the attacks on Dalits at Koregaon-Bhima on New Year Eve saw members of the community on the road, raising Ambedkar’s political profile.