Lok Sabha elections 2024: We’re banking on the Muslim vote, says Prakash Ambedkar

Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi VBA National President Prakash Yashwant Ambedkar is vying for the Akola Lok Sabha seat yet again Of the nine times he contested the seat previously he emerged victorious only twice when supported by the Congress Now the party is going it aloneYou are contesting from Akola once again You have won this seat twice and lost several times as well How do you see the Lok Sabha poll campaign goingFirstly let me clarify that I am no stranger to Akola The prevailing discontent among the people against the current regime will undoubtedly surface in the elections The two main contenders against me Congressrsquos Dr Abhay Patil and BJPrsquos Anup Dhotre are newcomers to the political landscape here Additionally Patil is reported to have past RSS connections I believe that traditional Congress voters will rally behind me I am optimistic about securing over five lakh votes this timeAfter unsuccessful attempts to ally with the Maha Vikas Aghadi Ambedkar opted to go solo In an interview with midday the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar expressed confidence not only about winning but also in emerging as the main Opposition party this timePrakash Ambedkar the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi candidate from Akola district at his residence Yashwant Bhavan at Dwarka Nagri Akola on Thursday PicSatej ShindeYou are contesting from Akola once again You have won this seat twice and lost several times as well How do you see the Lok Sabha poll campaign goingFirstly let me clarify that I am no stranger to Akola The prevailing discontent among the people against the current regime will undoubtedly surface in the elections The two main contenders against me Congressrsquos Dr Abhay Patil and BJPrsquos Anup Dhotre are newcomers to the political landscape here Additionally Patil is reported to have past RSS connections I believe that traditional Congress voters will rally behind me I am optimistic about securing over five lakh votes this timeIt is a triangular fight yet again this year in Akola between BJP Congress and VBA How do you anticipate the battle will unfoldYes indeed this is a triangular contest However it differs from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections In the last election Congress fielded a candidate from the Muslim community resulting in the blocking of a significant portion of Muslim votes This time with no Muslim candidate against us we anticipate garnering support from the Muslim community Overall including the Muslim votes and OBC votes we anticipate receiving over five lakh votes Muslims are decisively voting for me to defeat the BJP So if the current situation persists I am confident of winning Akola this timeThere is a narrative in political circles in the state that this time the majority of the Muslim vote share will go to Congress or Shiv Sena What are your thoughts on thisWhile Chandrapur and BhandaraGondia do have a significant Muslim vote share I donrsquot believe it will overwhelmingly go to Congress In Ramtek the Muslim vote is expected to favour independent candidate Kishore Gajbhiye According to a survey conducted during his visit to the region former IPS officer Abdur Rehman indicated that Muslims feel Congress has been compromised in these regionsAmbedkar addresses his supporters at a public meeting at Bhawani Peth Akola in the Vidarbha regionThe situation has changed drastically since 2019 What does this mean for the VBA and you as its leaderIndeed there have been significant changes between 2019 and now The VBA is the only party that has remained intact without any splits or disturbances As we contest 40 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra we emerge as the main Opposition party in the state No other party whether itrsquos the BJP Congress or Shiv Sena is contesting on as many seats as us Therefore we will be the primary Opposition force in MaharashtraYou have been vocal about the BJPrsquos alleged misuse of state and Central agencies in your campaigns Can you elaborate on thisA recent incident highlights the BJPrsquos insecurity and fear They ordered a raid on the hotel room of one of our representatives Sarvajeet Bansod in Bhandara We conduct crowdfunding campaigns in our public meetings and we have provided all the evidence to prove our innocence Despite having evidence they still conducted the raid to disrupt and intimidate us ahead of the upcoming electionsYou believe in the narrative that the BJP will change the Constitution if they win 400plus seats What are your thoughts on PM Modirsquos call for lsquo400 paarrsquoTherersquos always a possibility especially considering the RSSrsquos pledge after the adoption of the Constitution in 1950 Changing the Constitution is upright in their mind This was an agenda set in 1950 For that you have to refer to a government of India document dated July 29 1949 which is a document of agreement between RSS and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the home minister So that is an old agendaHowever achieving over 400 seats seems unlikely I donrsquot believe they will even secure more than 170 seats According to me BJPrsquos narrative of crossing 400 seats is nothing but a mindboggling game that he Modi playedHow do you think the split in parties like Shiv Sena and NCP will impact vote share in this election Do you believe this will benefit you in any wayYes it will benefit us For instance in YavatmalWashim and Buldhana where itrsquos Shiv Sena versus Shiv Sena the split has left secular voters with limited options I firmly believe that in these two constituencies we are gaining significant support especially with the JarangePatil Maratha versus OBC dynamic We have extended our support to Manoj Jarange Patil1950Year Constitution was adopted