Prakash Ambedkar calling off alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) unfortunate: Sanjay Raut

Mumbai, Mar 24 (PTI) A day after Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar said the alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) doesn’t exist any longer, Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party termed it as a “one-sided” and unfortunate decision.

Talking to reporters here on Sunday, Raut said when Uddhav Thackeray and Prakash Ambedkar announced their alliance more than a year back, the upcoming Lok Sabha elections were not on the agenda.

It was basically working together for the assembly and local bodies elections, he said.

“The alliance was made with good intentions,” the Sena (UBT) leader said.

“Ambedkar should have discussed with Thackeray before making such an announcement. It is one-sided and unfortunate,” Raut said, adding that the VBA chief, grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, should reconsider his decision.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) offer of four seats in Maharashtra to Prakash Ambedkar still remains, Raut said.

Elections to the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra will be held in five phases on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13 and May 20 and votes will be counted on June 4.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and VBA announced an alliance in January last year.

Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA has been eyeing to join hands with three MVA allies – Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) – for the Lok Sabha polls. However, the seat-sharing talks with the allies have remained inconclusive so far.

On Saturday, Prakash Ambedkar said he would declare his next move on March 26. He evaded a direct reply on the status of talks between the VBA and Maha Vikas Aghadi for the upcoming elections. The VBA chief also claimed that the internal strife in MVA allies doesn’t seem to end. He claimed the MVA never gave him a proposal of four seats. A few days back, Prakash Ambedkar had expressed displeasure with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) for their “unequal attitude” towards his party and offered support to the third MVA partner Congress on seven Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. The VBA’s proposal to the Congress is not only a “goodwill” gesture, but also an “extension of a friendly hand” for a possible alliance for the future, he had said.