Prakash Ambedkar joins MVA meeting, declares INDIA bloc is ove

Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar on Friday joined the seat-sharing meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Mumbai. The MVA has already held two rounds of the seat-sharing talks with no conclusion reached yet. Mr. Ambedkar, who was attending the MVA meeting for the first time, embarrassed alliance partners of the MVA stating that INDIA bloc does not exist anymore. 

The MVA was formed by the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena in 2019 in Maharashtra. In 2023, all three parties decided to become a part of the INDIA bloc.

According to the sources, the VAB chief made a demand of six Lok Sabha seats. These seats include Akola, Amravati, Parbhani, Solapur, Mumbai South Central and Buldhana. Mr. Ambedkar hoped that MVA does not end up like the INDIA bloc, where alliance partners are deciding to go solo, and also told the other parties that he has a long-standing offer from the BJP. Speaking with the reporters in Mumbai after the



meeting, 

Mr. Ambedkar said that Samajwadi Party (SP) chief AKhilesh Yadav has parted ways with the Congress party and MVA should not become like the INDIA bloc. He said the issue of seating sharing will be a part of the next phase of the meeting and his first meeting was to to only discuss a common minimum programme (CMP).

According to the sources, Prakash Ambedkar has sought an official stand of the MVA on OBC and Maratha reservation. A senior MVA leader said that the MVA can offer a maximum of two to three seats including Mumbai South Central to the VAB. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said that they have constituted a committee under the leadership of former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to draft the CMP. The CMP will be prepared in the next eight days. The next meeting will be held after eight days. “There is no dispute in connection with the seat sharing of the Lok Sabha,” the Congress leader said.