Prakash Ambedkar accuses BJP of coercion to block opposition alliances in civic polls

VBA (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using coercive methods to prevent opposition parties from forging alliances for the upcoming civic elections in Maharashtra.

Addressing a press conference here, Ambedkar said several parties that had alliances at the state level were unable to replicate similar arrangements for the municipal corporation polls scheduled for 15 January.

“The BJP has struck selective alliances, but has used pressure and blackmail to stop others from joining hands. The BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have begun a process to challenge the very existence of these parties,” he alleged.

In Nagpur, except for the alliance between the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, other major parties — including the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction), the NCP and the VBA — are contesting the civic polls independently.

Of the 151 wards in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, the BJP has fielded candidates in 143 seats, leaving eight for its ally, the Shiv Sena.

The VBA, which is contesting on its own, has announced candidates in 52 wards.

Ambedkar warned that the weakening of opposition parties would undermine democratic discourse.

“If political parties are finished and there is no leader left to raise diverse issues, then, as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar had cautioned, days are not far when the ‘Grammar of Anarchy’ begins,” he said, urging voters to support any party except the BJP in the Nagpur civic polls.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Nagpur, will be held on 15 January, with counting of votes scheduled for the following day.

With inputs from PTI