Lok Sabha elections 2024: Prakash Ambedkar joins MVA seat-sharing talks

Prakash Ambedkar with MVA leaders on Friday. Pic/ Sanjay Raut/X

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar on Friday joined the seat-sharing talks of the Maharashtra opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, reported the PTI.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut shared a photograph of Prakash Ambedkar being welcomed at the meeting in Mumbai.

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The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprises of Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The VBA-led by Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr B R Babasaheb Ambedkar was recently inducted in the MVA.

The allies are likely to finalize a broad seat-sharing deal, with 10 to 12 seats pending to be discussed, according to MVA leaders.

Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest in the country after Uttar Pradesh's 80.

Sanjay Raut posted on X, "With VBA joining the MVA, the fight to protect the Constitution of India becomes stronger. We will fight against mobocracy."

NCP's Jayant Patil and Jitendra Awhad, Congress leaders Nana Patole, Ashok Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat and Varsha Gaikwad and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut are part of the seat-sharing talks committee.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP had won in 23 constituencies, followed by the undivided Shiv Sena, which bagged 18 seats. While the NCP, which split last year, had got four seats, one seat each went to the Congress, AIMIM and an Independent candidate.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut on Thursday dubbed as a "farce" the on-going hearing on NCP disqualification pleas before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, and claimed the Sharad Pawar-founded party will meet the same fate as his outfit, reported news agency PTI.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) suffered a split in July 2023 when its senior leader Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs broke ranks and joined the Eknath Shinde government as cabinet ministers. Ajit Pawar is now deputy chief minister.

Narwekar is hearing NCP disqualification pleas linked to the split filed by the NCP's rival factions, seeking disqualification of those owing allegiance to the other camp.

"It (hearing) is a farce. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has experienced it and now the NCP, too, will experience it," Sanjay Raut said, reported PTI.

(with PTI inputs)