A relative of Ambedkar extends assistance to Congress in Maharashtra.

MUMBAI: Prakash Ambedkar, the leader of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and the grandson of BR Ambedkar, extended support to Congress candidates for seven Lok Sabha seats in a letter directed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday.

Despite initial discussions about joining the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which offered VBA four seats, Ambedkar's party and MVA seem to be moving apart as he had originally sought 12 seats.

Ambedkar stated, "VBA will provide comprehensive ground and strategic backing to Congress candidates in seven seats chosen by the Congress." In his letter shared on a specific platform (X), he added, “The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi's proposal is not just a gesture of goodwill but also an outreach for a potential alliance in the future.”

The communication highlighted Ambedkar's growing disillusionment with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). He mentioned, "They have consistently disregarded VBA's input in numerous MVA meetings, leading us to lose trust in both parties due to their unequal treatment of VBA within the MVA framework."