Nagpur: Former MP and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) founder Advocate Prakash Ambedkar said that during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections the focus was on saving the Constitution, but the upcoming Maharashtra state assembly elections will be dominated by the contentious issue of reservation.
Ambedkar said that the OBC reservation issue is set to be a major electoral issue along with the application of the creamy layer criterion to Scheduled Castes and Tribes. These issues are likely to provoke strong reactions from the concerned communities, he predicted.
Ambedkar also criticized the Supreme Court's recent decision on the sub-categorization and creamy layer for SC/ST communities, calling it flawed. Ambedkar noted the court's failure to address sub-categorization for the open category, further fueling his opposition to the ruling. He questioned whether the judiciary should make such policy decisions.
While the Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliances have shown readiness to implement the SC decision, VBA has opposed it strongly, Ambedkar said.
According to Ambedkar, a divide appears to be forming between the OBCs and Marathas. The Kunbi community is aligning as OBCs in regions like Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Gondia, and Nagpur, while the OBC vs Maratha debate persists in other districts, he said. Ambedkar argued that neither alliance has provided adequate opportunities to OBCs, which is likely to result in OBC vs Maratha clash in the election.
Ambedkar also noted that in 32 assembly constituencies across Maharashtra, the contest is between factions of the Shiv Sena. He mentioned VBA's outreach to the Ulema community, which did not yield the desired response, suggesting that VBA is being sidelined.
He clarified that VBA's agenda extends beyond caste and religion. Ambedkar also raised questions about a rumoured meeting between Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar and underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim during Pawar's tenure as Union defence minister. The alleged meeting reportedly took place in the 1990s, a period marked by bomb blasts in Maharashtra and Mumbai, casting a shadow over Pawar's political legacy.