At a courtesy meeting in a hotel, Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar told his opponent from Congress in Solapur, Sushilkumar Shinde, that he wanted to show the latter's boss his (Prakash) political strength. He was referring to his decision to contest all 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Prakash, the grandson of B R Ambedkar, is chief of Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi (VBA) - an alliance of his party Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh and Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM.

Prakash's fate will be sealed on April 18, in Solapur and Akola - home to his social engineering lab where he conducted successful experiments that he wants to replicate on a larger scale. He has contested elections in Akola for over 30 years but managed a victory only twice, with the Congress's support. However, AIMIM's support in Akola, where Congress has fielded its only Muslim candidate - Hidayat Patel - in the state, has boosted Prakash's prospects.