Ambedkar targets Cong as party stays hopeful of alliance with VBA

“The Congress is honestly holding discussions with the VBA for seat sharing and alliance. But if he (Prakash Ambedkar) is making statements, which will lead to division between two parties, then I can only comment that it is a sad thing to happen,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal.

The Congress delegation had met Ambedkar two days ago to discuss a possible alliance between two parties. However, sources within the Congress mentioned that the VBA is making unreasonable demands of seats and the public statements of its leaders are targeting Congress more than the Mahayuti. The senior leadership of the state Congress, however, maintained that it is hopeful for an alliance.

“We were in alliance at some places in nagar parishad and nagar panchayat polls. In Mumbai, the initial demand was 50-50. How is it even possible? If we are talking about alliance, then the demands need to be reasonable,” a senior Congress leader said. According to sources, the VBA has now demanded non-negotiable 43 seats in Mumbai. The Congress has conveyed that it will respond to the demand by Friday evening.

Earlier, Sapkal clarified that the party will go in alliance only with those in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and like minded parties. “There is no proposal to ally with clock (Ajit Pawar NCP), Bow and Arrow (Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena) or Engine (MNS). The party will go solo if necessary and form an alliance with the like minded parties,” he said.