Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on Monday announced an alliance ahead of civic polls in several cities in Maharashtra, the move coinciding with the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.
Addressing a joint press conference, Uddhav Thackeray said his grandfather Keshav Thackeray, also known as Prabodhankar Thackeray, and Prakash Ambedkar’s grandfather, legendary social icon and jurist B R Ambedkar, were contemporaries who admired each other and worked to eradicate social evils and bad practices.
“Now there are some bad practices in politics and to eradicate them, the inheritors of these two leaders, and people around them, have come together to protect the country’s interest. We are coming together to ensure democracy is alive,” Thackeray said.
Without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is ruling in Maharashtra as well as at the Centre, Thackeray said the country is heading towards autocracy. The terms of several municipal corporations, including those of Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and municipal councils ended last year but polls could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking about the alliance, Ambedkar said the coming together of the VBA and Shiv Sena (UBT) was the start of the “politics of change”.
The move is seen as an attempt by Thackeray to consolidate support among Dalits ahead of the civic polls in the state. The VBA has presence in pockets of Vidarbha, with Ambedkar having represented Akola in the Lok Sabha in 1998 and 1999.