Though keen on an alliance with the Congress party in Maharashtra, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) chief Prakash Ambedkar is not expecting the ties to formalize for the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Prakash Ambedkar, a prominent Dalit leader and grandson of Dr BR Ambedkar, called the Congress arrogant.

“Congress is arrogant. It never reconciled to the idea of sharing power. We are aiming for an alliance but it doesn’t seem likely to happen. Hence, in that scenario we are going to contest on all Lok Sabha seats,” he said.

Maharashtra sends 48 lawmakers to the Lok Sabha. Ambedkar’s BBM has already forged an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to contest the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections under the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) banner.

Ambedkar and other VBA members met with Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, but there hasn’t emerged any concrete proposals for a tie-up. The political leaders attached with the banner were keen for an alliance with Congress only to counter saffron politics.

“The reason why we are open to having an alliance with Congress is to prevent BJP-RSS from bouncing back. We, who form the vanchit samaj, believe in the constitution, on the other hand the BJP-RSS combine is carrying out their agenda of changing the constitution,” he said, calling for an alliance of secular parties.

Ambedkar draws towards the Congress because NCP has a history of backing communal politics, he said.

While comparing the preparedness of VBA in countering RSS, BJP to that of Congress’ preparedness, Ambedkar said, “Congress neither has a mission, nor face, nor ideology to counter RSS. We are well prepared in taking on them on socio-political issues, in fact on these issued RSS is on the back foot across the nation.”

Ambedkar believes that they have built a counter against the RSS, BJP on constitutional values and have exposed their “cultural nationalism, theory of guns and Manuwadi idea of religion.”

The starting point of coming together of vanchit or the underprivileged in politics of Maharashtra started with Bhima Koregaon, he said.

“There are certain sections of Dalits, Muslims and others who have been left out in Maharashtra and have not got their share of political platform. They have been used by Congress-NCP. We chose the vanchit and organized these people into a major political force,” Amdebkar said.