Tag: VBA

Who Is Responsible For The Failure of MVA-VBA Alliance in Maharashtra?

A non-serious attitude to understand the electoral arithmetic and prioritising organisational interest over the call of unity to defeat the BJP has raised doubts about the VBA’s decision to break the MVA alliance.

The upcoming general elections is a crucial test for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the future politics of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). It is acknowledged that the VBA holds a significant influence over the Dalit-Bahujan constituencies and without its support, winning the battle against the right-wing alliance in Maharashtra will be a difficult task for the MVA.

Even after such acknowledgement, the failure to forge an alliance between the MVA and the VBA has raised doubts over the ideological commitment of these political parties to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For the failure of the alliance, the myopic vision of the MVA and the VBA leaders is responsible. It reflects that the opposition parties in Maharashtra have underestimated the power of the BJP-led alliance and cunningly prioritised temporary organisational profits and personal interests of leaders while deciding the modalities of the alliance. 

It is visible that the VBA’s autonomous political assertion will create a third political block and would overtly damage the possibility of a unified vote of the opposition, offering easy victories to the BJP in several constituencies. More than the MVA alliance, it is VBA’s independent Dalit-Bahujan political assertion that would face the allegations that it has betrayed the secular alliance by dividing the anti-BJP votes and relegating the possibility of its independent political representation in Parliament. 

The Dalit politics in Maharashtra

The socially marginalised groups, especially the Dalits and the OBCs, represent a vast population in Maharashtra. Their participation and influence in the political power game, however, remained peripheral. After the demise of Babasaheb Ambedkar in 1956, his political party, the Republican Party of India (RPI), attempted to mobilise the Dalits, poor farming classes and the Adivasis under the new banner, however, it succeeded in showcasing its impact only in a few constituencies.

The RPI soon witnessed factionalism on flimsy ideological issues, allowing the Congress party to appropriate the disgruntled leaders of the party. The RPI further ruptured because of petty personal deviations of its own leadership as many established their own political parties to remain relevant in the democratic sphere. 

By the mid-1990s, the RPI was divided into as many as 14 different factions, and Mahar-caste leadership dominated most of them. Furthermore, in its desperate attempt to remain visible in the power structure, the RPI fragments forged opportunistic alliances with the Congress and soon it became a negligible force in Maharashtra’s politics.

With the rise of the popular Dalit Panthers movement in the mid-1970s, the Dalit voices have sharpened their intervention in the social, cultural, and intellectual domains. Panthers’ produced a new language, political rhetoric, and militancy within the Dalit youth, and transformed the moribund lethargy that had crippled the Dalit political movement earlier.

It borrowed its ideological values from the Black Panthers, the radical Left and the Civil Rights movement in the United States and improvised it as a substantive Ambedkarite ideological alternative. However, this powerful social movement also collapsed soon due to ideological quarrels between the leadership and the lack of resources to build an impressive mass organisation. In the 1990s, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also emerged as a decent mobiliser of the Dalit-Bahujan groups, however, it also failed to retain its influence.  

In the current political scenario, Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA has emerged as an important torchbearer of the autonomous Dalit-Bahujan’s political assertion, mobilising the ‘Vanchit’ groups (excluded sections) to regain political power. The VBA’s significant entry in electoral politics showcases that the Dalit political consciousness has the capacity to revitalise the politics of social justice and can challenge the conventional ruling elites. Although the party’s presence in the political arena in Maharashtra has introduced the Dalit-Bahujan groups as key claimants of political power, however on the flip side, it has been argued that its electoral strategies appear to have benefitted the ascendency of the BJP. 

 VBA and the renewal of the Dalit politics

The political institutions in Maharashtra have been dominated by social elites, especially by the powerful and rich Maratha elites for a long time now. In addition, there is a visible ideological shift towards Hindutva politics as the major political parties in the state today endorse the right-wing political objectives.

It has not only relegated the politics of secularism and social justice but also crippled the possibility to build a powerful political front that flags the interests and concerns of the Adivasi-Dalit-Bahujan (DBA) groups. 

In the current political turmoil of Maharashtra, Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA has been identified as a new experiment that has revitalised the dormant Dalit movement with innovative slogans and powerful ideological force. It introduced ‘Vanchit’ as a political category to mobilise the worst-off and marginalised social groups and envisaged their dignified role in the electoral battles.

Since its inception, the VBA has reprimanded the mainstream political parties for the neglect of the Dalit-Bahujan groups and evoked a hope that it can launch a third alternative in the state’s politics.

Importantly, it showed aggressive zeal in challenging right-wing politics and bashed the opposition parties (mainly the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party) for not taking an uncompromising stand against right-wing political domination.

In the previous elections, the VBA’s participation drifted a crucial vote share from the secular alliance and indirectly helped the BJP to win a significant number of seats. Therefore, it was expected that for the 2024 general elections, the VBA will not repeat its past actions and in order to build a grand alliance against the BJP led-Maha Yuti, will participate in the Congress-led MVA alliance without much tussle.

Prakash Ambedkar even showed his willingness to join the MVA alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and in his speech during the INDIA bloc’s rally in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park had indicated the possibility of a broader alliance to defeat the BJP.

However, on several occassions, the VBA has expressed reprehension against the NCP, doubted the commitment of the MVA leaders in fighting against the BJP and demanded a huge share of seats in the alliance. Such a tussle, a non-serious attitude to understand the electoral arithmetic and prioritising organisational interest over the call of unity to defeat the BJP has raised doubts about the VBA’s decision to break the MVA alliance.

VBA’s limitations

The VBA offers a dynamic platform to reassess the politics of social justice and has given a call for the unity of the oppressed social groups to defeat the BJP, however, its political rigidity often appears rhetorical and motivated mainly to achieve contextual electoral gains. Its decision not to be part of the MVA alliance in the earlier elections has showcased that the party has underestimated the capacity of Hindutva’s ideological force to tarnish and uproot the foundational ethics of India’ constitutional democracy.

VBA’s independent electoral contests in the last two elections in Maharashtra have visibly benefitted the BJP and relegated the opposition into periphery. Being a Dalit-Bahujan political party, it is must to examine that among many socio-political enemies, the right-wing political assertion is the main and principle threat to the constitutional values and safeguarding the population from such danger shall be the prime responsibility of the organisation. However, during the season of electoral battles, the VBA swiftly decided not to follow the primary principle.     

The VBA is not in a position to defeat both the alliances in the upcoming elections. As witnessed in earlier elections, the VBA’s own capacity to win Lok Sabha elections is limited to a  few constituencies. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Prakash Ambedkar formed an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and together they secured 7.65% of the votes, which proved decisive in eight seats. Predictably, it harmed the Congress-led alliance more. In many constituencies, the VBA candidates secured more votes than the difference of votes between the winning candidates and the runner ups.

This reflects the VBA’s control and influence over certain sections within the Dalit-Bahujan voters. However, this is also the party’s major limitations in the electoral politics as it managed to cater mainly to the Dalit voters while the rest of the social groups that it vouches to represent (lower OBCs, other farming castes, Adivasis and the Muslims) often vote the other political alternatives.   

The VBA has not achieved a major breakthrough in mobilising the other social groups that can make it a winning alternative. In the recent public rallies and events, the VBA showcased its commitment to fight the right-wing and its desire to build a strong social base by addressing the issues and concerns of the vulnerable non-Mahar castes.

It has succeeded in expanding its horizon and has emerged as a party that speaks for the historically oppressed social groups (Vanchit); however, such a framework has limited capacity to make it a formidable political force in the electoral battles. This effort appears to be futile as without the support of major social groups (like the OBCs, Muslims or the Marathas) such social engineering under Prakash Ambedkar’s leadership is insignificant and will only segregate the Dalits and won’t be successful in being a part of a larger alliance to fight against the saffron forces. 

The future of social justice politics

The Shiv Sena (UBT) led MVA’s success in the upcoming electoral battle is dependent upon the support from the socially marginalised groups, especially the DBA voters.

It has been recognised that the VBA’s independent contest will only alienate a significant section of these voters, favouring the BJP to have a comfortable sway in winning the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. By offering a dignified space to the VBA in the alliance, the opposition could have avoided such a situation, however, the MVA leadership have also showcased disinterest and lethargy in dealing with Ambedkar’s claims and suggestions.

It was prudent that the MVA leadership shall have acknowledge the merit of Ambedkar’s assertion and his quest to establish the Dalits as crucial interlocutors in the political processes. Further,  without the VBA, the MVA alliance looks like a club of social elite leaders that raise social justice slogans without offering equitable representation to the Dalit-Bahujan groups in power. The failure of the MVA leaders to allocate the VBA a sensible number of seats further demonstrate their lack of commitment towards the ideals of social justice and their will to stall the right-wing juggernaut. 

For the marginalised social groups, it is always beneficial if the political establishment supplements the values of state welfarism, social justice and secularism. Instead, the current Modi regime offers communal overtones, authoritatively controls the democratic institutions for narrow political purposes and promotes the interests of the powerful capitalist elites .

It is in such dire context, a wider alliance of the opposition parties is expected that will allow the politics of social justice to take the centre stage. Political parties that vouch to promote the ideals of social justice have moral responsibilities in such a context. However, more than believing in progressive ideological values and strategising to protect the general mass from the authoritative rule of the right-wing, it appears that the opposition leaders in Maharashtra are interested mainly in safeguarding petty personal egos and organisational benefits. They lack political prudence and strategic correctness towards building a robust challenge against the right-wing domination in the state.  

Harish S. Wankhede is Assistant Professor, Center for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. 

Shiv Sena and Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA Announce Alliance Ahead of Civic Polls

The decision was announced in a joint press conference on the birth anniversary of the late Bal Thackeray.

New Delhi: Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar announced an alliance on Monday, January 23, a move which comes before civic polls are due to take place in many parts of Maharashtra, including for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The announcement coincided with the birth anniversary of the late Bal Thackeray. The decision to form an alliance had been in the pipeline for several months, Ambedkar said.

In the joint press conference, Thackeray said that the decision to join forces with the VBA would ensure that “democracy is alive” in the country.

Thackeray also mentioned that his grandfather, Keshav Thackeray, and Ambedkar’s grandfather, B.R. Ambedkar, were contemporaries who admired each other and worked for the betterment of the country.

Shiv Sena is also a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), along with the Congress and the National Congress Party. While the VBA’s alliance is limited to the Sena at present, Ambedkar was hopeful that the other parties will also join.

Prakash Ambedkar Protests for Temple Reopening, Booked for Defying Social Distancing Norms

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi is supporting the demand by an outfit of devotees of Lord Vitthal to reopen all temples in Maharashtra.

Pune/Mumbai: Defying social distancing norms, scores of members of the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Warkaris launched a protest on Monday for reopening of the famous temple of Lord Vitthal at Pandharpur town in Maharashtra’s Solapur district.

During their agitation near the temple, shut due to COVID-19 restrictions, Ambedkar said they were waiting for a response from the district collector over the demand and added that “I am here to break rules,” prompting the Shiv Sena and the Congress to hit out at him.

Ambedkar later claimed that 15 members, including him, were allowed to enter the temple. Later in the day, police booked more than 1,000 people, including Ambedkar and members of Warkari outfits, for unlawful assembly and for violating COVID-19 restrictions during the protest, a senior police officer said.

The VBA is supporting the demand of the Vishwa Warkari Sena, an outfit of devotees of Lord Vitthal, which had given a memorandum to the Solapur district administration seeking that all temples reopened in Maharashtra.

The police barricaded roads leading to the temple to stop the protesters.

During the protest, Ambedkar was asking the protesters to maintain social distancing and keep calm.

To a question on the protesters gathering in a large number and there is no social distancing, he said it is the sentiments of people that have brought them to Pandharpur.

Reacting to it, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and opposition leaders will find a way out on the issue of reopening temples and urged against talking about breaking rules at least on health issues.

“In such a situation, when a medical emergency is prevailing, for a key person like Prakash Ambedkar to speak the language of breaking rules is like provoking people,” Raut told reporters in Mumbai.

“We could see social distancing norms, which are key in combating the crisis, being violated blatantly today outside the temple. Thousands of people have gathered there and the disease can spread due to it,” he said.

The chief minister has not permitted reopening temples sensing these pitfalls, he said.

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said it was unfortunate that Prakash Ambedkar violated social distancing norms as he led the agitation in Pandharpur.

Representatives of sections of societies should cooperate with the government when a pandemic is prevailing, Sawant told reporters in Mumbai.

“I would like to tell Prakash Ambedkar saheb that there is Ambedkar in your name and (Dr B R) Ambedkar has drafted the Constitution. Hence, it is very sad that you broke rules, he said.

Meanwhile, police have invoked sections 143 and 144 of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Bombay Police Act, Disaster Management Act and Epidemic Disease Act against Ambedkar and others, the officer said.

“A case has been registered against over 1,000 people, including Ambedkar and members of the warkari outfits, for unlawful assembly and violating the COVID-19 restrictions that inflicted to stop the spread of the virus,” said Manoj Patil, Superintendent of Police, Solapur district.

Shiv Sena drops cryptic hint

The Shiv Sena in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana said, “In a way, he took the saffron pataka (flag) on his shoulder. The new procession of Advocate Ambedkar and his VBA must welcome if they are heading in the direction of Hindutva.”

Further, it added that it is right that people have made such a demand, but they are also aware of the prevailing health crisis in the state and Warkaris must be mindful of this. It said nobody declared earlier that temples not be reopened. The Maha Vikas Aghadi Government in the state has only maintained that it is not the right time to reopen temples.

The BJP last week staged a protest, demanding the reopening of temples in the state, while Ambedkar did so on Monday.

It is pure coincidence that the two demonstrations are linked. There does not seem to be any substance in the often made allegation of a “tacit understanding” between Ambedkar and the BJP.

(With PTI inputs)

Maharashtra: Two Dalit Men Killed in Separate Incidents, Police ‘Acted Late’

Activists say that there has been a dramatic rise in the cases of atrocities in the state in the past few months.

Mumbai: In two separate cases of caste violence, two Dalit young men were brutally attacked and murdered in Maharashtra.

In the first violent incident, that occurred on May 27, a 32-year-old anti-caste activist and an active member of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) was found dead under suspicious conditions minutes after he had confronted caste Hindu men, all belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) ‘Kunbi’ community. The men had allegedly bullied and beaten him and his friend up over a picture they took of the accused’s shop.

In another incident, a 20-year-old college student was targeted and killed by Maratha men on June 7 for being in a relationship with a woman from their community.

In both incidents, the victims’ families have accused the police of not being responsive and deliberately delaying police action in order to shield the accused.Only after anti-caste activists and political leaders exerted pressure were the police forced to look into the matter seriously.

Nagpur incident

On May 27, a 32-year-old anti-caste activist and an active member of the VBA in Maharashtra was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Nagpur. The victim, Arvind Bansod, had allegedly died by suicide minutes after he and his friend Gajanan Raut were brutally beaten up by OBC Kunbi caste men in Thadipawani town in Narkhed tehsil of Nagpur district.

The prime accused, Mithilesh alias Mayuresh Umarkar, is a local Nationalist Congress Party leader. State home minister and senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh represents this taluka. Umarkar’s father, Bandopant Umarkar, is a district vice-president of the NCP.

Bansod and Raut, friends, had travelled from Pimpaldhara village in Narkhed to the nearby Thadipawani town. When Bansod went to an ATM to access money, Raut had visited a HP gas agency next door. “An old lady in the village had sought a favour and wanted us to get her gas cylinder refilled. Since there were a bunch of numbers mentioned on the board, I decided to click a picture of the shop’s board on my phone. The owners (also the accused) of the shop saw me click pictures, and immediately confiscated my phone,” Raut says.

Also read: Nepal: 4 Dalit Men Killed by Upper Caste Mob, Activists Point to History of Discrimination

By then Bansod had come back from the ATM and he intervened. Umarkar and his friends, angry that two Dalit men were confronting them, began to beat them up. “They used abusive slurs while thrashing the two of us,” Raut says.

Somehow the two had managed to get out of the shop and Raut asked Bansod to sit at the corner of the shop while he went to fetch some petrol for his bike. But when Raut returned in less than five minutes, he saw Bansod lying on the ground unconscious with a bottle of pesticide next to him.

Sumedh Gondane, a VBA activist from the area who has been closely following the case, says seeing Raut back at the spot, Umarkar and his friends put Bansod in their car and took him away to a hospital. “They did not let Raut enter the car,” Gondane says.

“Umarkar’s behaviour from the start to the end has been suspicious. Still, the police were prompt in declaring this as a suicide without investigating the clear allegations made by Gajanan,” Gondane adds.

In the beginning, the police had only filed a case of abetment to suicide against Umarkar and a few others. But Bansod’s death led to a public outcry, with VBA head Prakash Ambedkar and other party members seeking an impartial police investigation into the matter. Activists on the ground have alleged that the story of suicide was not plausible and there were chances of foul play here. Since the accused persons are active members of NCP, Ambedkar has also sought a CBI investigation into the matter.

As the police continued to stonewall the victim’s family members and activists, and refused to investigate the case seriously, Sandeep Tamgadge, a senior IPS officer from Nagaland cadre but originally a Nagpur resident, decided to intervene in the matter. A delegation of 15 persons, involving activists and representatives of different anti-caste political parties, was formed and a meeting was organised with the Inspector General (Nagpur Range) K.M. Mallikarjuna Prasanna on June 9. The delegation says the meeting allowed them to explain the ground situation to the officials and their demands were eventually accepted.

IG Prasanna confirmed the meeting and added: “We have now enhanced the sections in the FIR and have applied relevant sections of the atrocity Act. We have also decided to provide security to the victim’s family and his friend.”

Pune murder

In another incident, six Maratha men executed a well-planned attack on a 20-year-old undergraduate student, Viraj Jagtap, for being in love with a girl from their community. On June 7, around 9:30 pm at Pimple Saudagar village in Pimpri Chinchwad taluka of Pune, the men allegedly attacked Jagtap with a rod and boulders, and ran a tempo over him. Viraj, who suffered grave injuries in the attack, died a day later in a hospital. Viraj’s ‘crime’ was that he had been in love with a daughter of one of the prime accused, Jagdish Kate.

Four of the six accused – Hemant Kate, Sagar Kate, Kailash Kate and Jagdish – have been taken into police custody. As the remaining two are a few months short of 18, they have been sent to children’s home in Pune. Viraj and Jagdish Kate’s daughter had been in love over the past few months and the latter did not approve of their relationship. According to Viraj’s close friends who were privy to his relationship, the Kates had threatened him two months ago of dire consequences if he did not back off.

Also read: UP: Dalit Teen Killed by ‘Upper Caste’ Men After Entering a Temple

Viraj’s family says they were unaware of his relationship until the incident, and only after his death did his friends share the backstory with them. “The girl’s family knew about their relationship all along and they had been keeping a close eye on the couple. They had even threatened to kill Viraj a few months ago. We only wish he had shared this with us,” his uncle, Jitesh Jagtap, told The Wire.

Jitesh, who is a complainant in the case, also accused the police of not taking their complaint till the time the victim died. “Soon after the incident, we had approached Sangvi police station and asked them to intervene. My nephew was still alive then and recording his statement then was very crucial. But the police shooed us away and said this was some minor feud which did not need their intervention,” Jitesh alleged. Even though the incident occurred on June 7, the police registered an FIR only on June 8, hours after Viraj’s death.

The Sangvi police officials, however, said that they had followed the due process and had waited for the doctors to determine his condition before finalising the FIR. “The victim was in a critical condition and we waited for him to stabilise. Unfortunately, he died the next day. We immediately arrested all the accused and have secured their police custody until June 16,” police inspector Ajay Bhosale told The Wire. The case investigation has been handed over to the deputy superintendent of police, Sridhar Jadhav.

The crucial link witness, in this case, are Viraj’s college mates and his girlfriend. The police said they are still in the process of recording statements. The police are considering recording key witnesses statements before a magistrate as prescribed under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The rise in atrocity cases

Jitratn Patait, news editor of Prabuddha Bharat, a Marathi fortnightly newspaper, says just in the past two weeks he has documented over 8-9 cases of caste violence in the state. Of them, he says most incidents have been reported in Jalna, Hingoli and Parbani districts of Marathwada region.

These cases range between extreme brutalities to the use of casteist slurs and Patait says in almost all cases, the police have remained passive until the time anti-caste activists intervened. “Behind the fake notion of being a progressive state hides a sordid history of violence against the Dalits and Adivasis. And the cases only get more violent when a person resists or asserts,” Patait says.

Every day, the home department puts out figures of cases registered against those defying the lockdown orders issued in the state since March to curb the increase in the COVID-19 infections. Over 1.25 lakh cases have been registered just under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code for ‘Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant’.

“Since the onset of this pandemic, police resources have been diverted into other policing work like maintaining the lockdown and sealing district boundaries. Disproportionate attention is being paid towards policing the masses and very little attention is paid towards the security of the Dalit, Adivasi communities in the state,” Patait observes. The results of this, Patiat says, can be seen in the way cases of atrocities have been on the rise.

After Bihar Debut, Asaduddin Owaisi and AIMIM Eye Further Expansion

From traditionally being restricted to Hyderabad, the party is now trying to project a pan-Indian image.

Hyderabad: Asaduddin Owaisi and his All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) became a hot topic in political circles in the Hindi belt after the by-election results in Kishanganj in Bihar’s Seemanchal region were announced on October 24. In this constituency, AIMIM candidate Kamrul Hoda emerged victorious, defeating his BJP rival Sweety and displacing the Congress from its traditional stronghold.

Soon, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM)’s Jitan Ram Manjhi, one of the constituents of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led grand alliance, instantly saw bright prospects for Dalit-Muslim consolidation. Saying Dalits and Muslims have been treated as outsiders in the eastern region of Bihar, Manjhi called for joint action with the AIMIM to take on the BJP’s agenda of implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.

As a strategic move, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, which performed impressively in the by-elections after smarting under a severe drubbing in the general elections, chose not to field a candidate against the AIMIM in Kishanganj.

The Kishanganj victory is the first in Bihar for the party, which has traditionally only been restricted to Hyderabad. This success follows the foray into Maharashtra, where it won the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat and two assembly seats in state elections, held on October 21. Owaisi is now set to take his party’s footprints from Bihar into Jarkhand, where assembly elections are scheduled from November 30 in five phases.

Also Read: Kishanganj Bypoll: How the Congress Lost Its Deposit in a Former Bihar Bastion

This was confirmed by Syed Aminul Hasan Jafri, AIMIM’s member of the Telangana legislative council. Speaking to The Wire, he said, “Pre-election rallies have already been held in Ranchi, attended by Asaduddin Owaisi. We have decided to contest the state elections, potentially by forging a coalition with tribal groups.”

The AIMIM made its debut in Bihar in the November 2015 elections. It contested six seats, all from the Seemanchal region where Muslim votes can be decisive. The party polled 80,248 votes, but drew a blank, with its candidate coming second in the Kochadaman segment. In the Lok Sabha elections too, the party fielded Akhtarul Iman in Kishanganj, polling almost 3 lakh votes. However, it stood third, behind the Janata Dal(U) and the Congress.

The party’s also attempted to open its account in Uttar Pradesh, fielding 38 candidates in the 2017 state elections. It polled 2.04 lakh votes, but failed to win any seats.

From vote cutter to catalyst

The AIMIM began its journey as an unregistered outfit making its electoral debut in 1959, contesting the municipal elections in Hyderabad. It then contested state and general elections, but mostly within Hyderabad and its surrounding areas. Asaduddin’s father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi held the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat six times consecutively. He chose to confine the party to Hyderabad, with a tag of ‘old city party’. This was the case until the baton was handed down to his elder son.

Akabruddin (left) had strained relationship with his father Salahuddin Owaisi (centre). To the right is Asaduddin Owaisi. Credit: twocircles.net

Asaduddin, a barrister who graduated from Lincoln’s Inn of London, looks ambitious in his attempts to emerge as a pan-Indian Muslim leader, unlike his father.

Owaisi’s firm stand on the Babri masjid issue and his extensive rallies – he is known for his crafty oratorial skills – across the country gave him the impetus to project himself as a vocal voice for Indian Muslims.

In pursuit of his ambitions, Asad’s party made electoral forays in Maharastra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the south, Maharastra in the west, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the north. It could make some inroads in Maharastra and Karnataka.

Mir Ayub Ali Khan, a senior journalist and analyst from Hyderabad, says that the AIMIM, under Asaduddin Owaisi, has undergone a radical change in its character and form. As a purely religious organisation floated to counter the anti-Muslim narratives of the Arya Samaj during the liberation movement in Telangana under the Nazam, it became inclusive by accommodating non-Muslims.

Also Read: Love and Hate in Hyderabad: The Incendiary Political Life of Akbaruddin Owaisi

Under Asad’s leadership, the party expanded its base by entering into coalitions with subaltern caste groups to suit the local socio-political conditions. He foresaw fertile ground for his party to grow in the Muslim-dominated Marathwada region in Maharastra and the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which were once part of the Nizam’s Hyderabad state. Its narrative was built around the killing of Muslims during the “police action” before the merger of the princely state with the Indian Union.

Asaduddin coined a catchy slogan – Jai Bhim-Jai Mim – to be an architect of an AIMIM-Dalit coalition that helped his party to emerge as a formidable force in certain caste-sensitive pockets in Maharastra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Jaffri said the party is also eyeing the possibility of expanding to West Bengal, where 30% of the population is Muslim. “We have got a strong party with active functionaries in the state. Our party is due to take a call on contesting the forthcoming 2021 assembly elections in the state,” he added.

However, according to a party source, the top brass chose to press the pause button with regard to expansion plans in Telangana. “As chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is our ally in Telangana, we don’t want to cut into his party, Telangana Rastra Samithi’s (TRS) vote bank. This may help his rival parties. So were are limiting ourself to Hyderabad for now.”

In Andhra Pradesh, Owaisi joined hands with KCR to defeat N. Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and volunteered to campaign for Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party. Here too, expansion plans may have to be halted to ensure that the YSR Congress is not harmed.

Asaduddin Owaisi, Akbaruddin Owaisi and K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Credit: PTI/Files

Accusations of being BJP’s B-team

In the process of expansion, AIMIM has been targeted by the Congress and the other anti-BJP parties for allegedly eating into the “secular vote”, thus indirectly benefiting the saffron party. Before the run up to the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Owaisi’s party was disallowed from hold rallies by the Akhilesh Yadav government. While the administration cited law and order issues, speculation said the Samajwadi Party did not want him to split the Dalit and OBC votes.

Also Read: Maharashtra Polls: Why Prakash Ambedkar’s Social Experiment Didn’t Work

All India Congress Committee (AICC) national spokesman Dasoju Sravan alleged that Owaisi’s conflicting stands vis-a-vis the TRS government in Telangana and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre point to the AIMIM’s politics of opportunism. “Asaduddin talks tough in the parliament against the Narendra Modi government on issues contentious for Muslims such Article 370 and uniform civil code. But he doesn’t mind to be an all-weather friend of  KCR, regardless of the fact that he has backed the NDA on these key issues,” he said.

In Maharashtra, in at least nine assembly seats, the AIMIM’s candidates were accused of splitting votes and defeating the NCP and Congress candidates. While this has been used as a charge to accuse the AIMIM as the BJP’s B team, Jaffri dismissed the argument saying the Congress has lost its steam and consistency in retaining its secular fabric. “The dividing line between the secular parties and communal outfits is getting blurred and Muslims are used as a vote bank in the power-play. The AIMIM will counter this vote bank politics”, Jaffri asserted.

Gali Nagaraja is a freelance journalist who writes on the two Telugu states.

Maharashtra Polls: Why Prakash Ambedkar’s Social Experiment Didn’t Work

Several VBA party workers allege that undeserving candidate were fielded in the assembly elections.

Mumbai: In March this year, senior political and anti-caste leader Prakash Ambedkar made an ambitious announcement. He said that his newly formed party, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), would field candidates on all 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. The party – formed in the aftermath of the violence unleashed on the Dalit community visiting Pune’s Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018 – fielded most candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, smaller backward castes and many from communities that have never been represented in the electoral political process.

At the end of this one-of-a-kind social experiment, the party managed an impressive 14% vote share or 41 lakh total votes. But this vote share did not convert into electoral success. Barring one candidate from then ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen or AIMIM, who won with a thin margin from the Aurangabad constituency, VBA did not meet with any success.

Five months later, in October, the party once again contested on a whopping 242 seats in the state assembly elections. This time, the vote share had drastically come down from 41 lakh to 24 lakh votes, and not one seat was claimed.

“Secular” vs Bahujan politics

The Congress has alleged that the VBA is a spoiler and, in both elections, split votes that would have gone to other secular, non-BJP parties. They also alleged that the VBA was merely acting as the BJP’s “B- team” in the state and was there to only to dent Congress’s chance of winning.

Soon after the results were announced on October 24, messages began circulating on several pro-Congress WhatsApp groups, with the list of seats where the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party came second and the VBA polled a sizeable share. These messages claimed that the VBA had eaten into Congress and NCP’s votes. Ambedkar vehemently denies these charges.

Congress’s state spokesperson Sachin Sawant openly criticised Prakash Ambedkar for the coalition’s defeat on as many as 25 seats. Sawant said that Ambedkar was responsible for depriving the state of a secular government.

Similar allegations were also made soon after the Lok Sabha elections. But the numbers had indicated that the Congress had lost on at least 20 out of 48 seats with one lakh or more vote margins, and the VBA barely had a role to play in those constituencies.

Challenging Sawant’s claims, Ambedkar says, “One needs to take a closer look at the VBA’s performance. In at least 9-10 seats, VBA is on number two and has lost the chance of winning the seats only because of the Congress and NCP.” In the Akot constituency in Akola, for instance, where BJP candidate Prakash Bharsakale won with 48,586 votes, VBA’s candidate advocate Santosh Rahate had polled 41,326 votes and the Congress candidate was way behind with a mere 27,679 votes.

Similarly, in Akola’s Murtizapur constituency, VBA lost by a mere 1,910 votes to BJP’s Harish Pimpale. VBA’s candidate Pratibha Awachar had polled 57,617 votes, Pimpale got 59,527 votes and Congress’s Ravikumar Rathi had polled 41,000 votes. “For a newly formed party, each of these seats were valuable. The Congress and NCP were fully aware that we have a strong presence in these regions but they had still contested. If not for them, we would have managed to win these seats,” Ambedkar says.

Lack of resources

Yet, the VBA electoral performance in terms of seats won is less than inspiring. Looking back, Ambedkar says the party made a few “fatal mistakes”, along with several external factors led to this disastrous result.

“We are a community of zero or very little resources. Elections are an expensive affair. We were not able to raise the kind of resources that is essential to run for elections,” Ambedkar told The Wire.

Also read | Formula 2.5 for the CM’s Chair: What Aaditya Thackeray and T.S. Singhdeo Want

In the general elections, the funds were primarily raised from the community itself. At the end of every public rally, party volunteers would go around seeking donations and several people had come forward to donate for the cause. “So many supporters had donated their monthly incomes, several women had even handed over their gold ornaments to raise funds. It was an emotional moment for the Bahujan community. They saw a political possibility in the state and they were ready to push limits for the cause,” says Aakshay Bansode, a young party activist from Nanded district.

But a few months later, the enthusiasm had faded. Ambedkar attributes that to the weaker economic capacity of the community. “It was too early for the community to be able to make any donation. Last time itself several people had given a huge chunk and were no more able to make similar kinds of donations. And as a result, we were not able to reach out to our voters in several areas. Our poor reachability led to our defeat,” he adds.

Coalition with the Congress not an option

It is not like Ambedkar or other party leaders were unaware of their limited financial capabilities. Why, then, did the party not agree to a coalition with the Congress?

Ambedkar says, “The moment results were out and it was clear that (Shiv) Sena was better positioned, both Congress and the NCP were eager to reach out to the Sena. Both the Congress and the saffron parties claim to have radically different ideologies. Still, the Congress was ready to form a coalition with the Sena. How does one even enter into any kind of political arrangement with such a party?”

Ambedkar further adds that the movement that he aspires for is not just to claim political power. “We need to come in power but that would be done only on the basis of our ideology,” he claims.

Both during the general elections and later during the state assembly polls, Ambedkar had a talk with the Congress over an alliance. While the Congress claims to be keen in forging an alliance, it had offered VBA fewer seats that it asked for. Both times, the talks failed.

Kapil Rajhans, a senior college faculty at Kolhapur University and a political commentator, points to a “historical” pattern and says that the Ambedkarite politics has never been allowed to flourish in the state. “Most political parties have lost their relevance the moment they joined hands with the BJP or the Congress. Jogendra Kawade, Ramdas Athawale and many other Ambedkarite leaders have gone with these established parties. What happened to them? How many legislatures have they managed?” Rajhans asks.

Buddhists vs other marginalised communities

Ambedkar’s counter to the Congress’s allegation might even have some substance in it, but he can’t shy away from the writing on the wall. In most constituencies that The Wire had travelled to during elections, ground-level party cadre complained about a lack of clarity among the leadership. In most constituencies, karyakartas claimed that the parliamentary committee of the party had nominated candidates who had no ground presence.

“Just by posturing on social media, elections are not won,” said one senior leader of Ambedkar’s erstwhile party, BHARIP Bahujan Mahasangh. Several experienced party workers had stayed away from the campaigning process as a mark of protest, he claimed.

There have also been protests and resignations following the ticket distribution. Like in Hatkanangale constituency in Kolhapur, the VBA decided to field a lesser-known candidate, S.P. Kamble, and that led to mass resignations. Indrajit Kamble, a senior leader and a longtime supporter of BHARIP, decided to quit the party after he was denied the ticket. In this constituency, even traditional Buddhist voters boycotted the candidate and as a result S.P. Kamble polled a meagre 11,000 votes in this assembly election.

Also read | BJP’s Biggest Challengers Right Now Are the Dominant Agrarian Castes

Ambedkar’s decision to consciously keep Buddhist candidates away also cost the party dearly. “The community has always been more politically aware and supported the Ambedkarite movement. So this time, when VBA decided to go for candidates from other communities, the Ambedkarite Buddhist communities were miffed,” points out Somnath Waghmare, a PhD scholar at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Unlike the Buddhist community, several OBC communities in the state are still more inclined towards the BJP and Sena. So even after the party decided to nominate candidates from these communities, it did not yield any results. Ambedkar, accepting this as one of the major failures, said, “There is a lot of work that needs to be done to overcome social barriers. There exists an acute sense of superiority among the OBC communities. They would attend VBA’s rallies but that did not convert into votes. A voter, in India, is willing to vote for a candidate above him in the caste ladder but not for someone below him. This has always the biggest challenge of an anti-caste political movement,” Ambedkar claims.

Attempt to criminalise the community

Along with the internal factors, Ambedkar says his party had to also fight the state’s clampdown on his party workers. Externment or tadipaar notices were issued to over 1,200 party workers in just Kolhapur district, and to several hundred across the state just two days before the elections.

“These notices were issued in relation with the Bhima Koregaon agitation last year. Even when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had declared that he would be taking the cases back, he did not. Instead, he decided to victimise some important party workers just two days before the election. We were forced to stay away from the campaign,” said Dayasagar Kamble, one of the party workers from Nagaon who along with 30 others from his village was served with this notice.

The way forward

It is easier to mobilise a community at the time of elections. After this defeat, several party workers have expressed their dismay towards the movement. To this, Ambedkar says, “Of course the community is feeling discouraged with the results, but one can’t forget that this is also perhaps the only community that fights back irrespective of the result.”

Going forward, Ambedkar says the focus will have to be on bringing in a social synergy among different Bahujan communities, especially between the OBC and Dalit groups. “Unless the social barrier is erased, it will be difficult to fight a successful electoral battle,” he adds.

Maharashtra Elections: Reluctant Allies BJP, Shiv Sena Seek Second Term

The BJP has dropped its ‘development’ agenda and has instead adopted a nationalist rhetoric for the polls.

Mumbai: As Maharashtra begins voting for assembly polls on Monday, the Bhartiya Janata Party and its primary ally Shiv Sena are seeking a second term in power. After a sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha elections just a few months ago, the BJP is hoping to replicate the result.

Maharashtra has 288 legislative assembly seats, the second-highest after Uttar Pradesh with 403. In Maharashtra, the BJP is contesting 150 seats, while the Shiv Sena will contest 124. The remaining 14 seats have been distributed to their smaller allies.

The Congress is contesting 146 seats, while its ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has fielded its candidates in 117 seats. Another opposition party, which is contesting independently in the state, is the newly floated Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). The party, led by veteran leader and Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, is contesting 280 seats.

The Sena-BJP, along with other allies, currently hold 217 seats in the state. The Congress and the NCP have 56 seats and the VBA is making its debut during this election.

Only one round of polling will be held the counting will be carried out three days later on October 24. The state has over 8.9 crore eligible voters, of which 1.17 lakh are service voters.

There are 3,237 candidates in the fray. For the 36 seats in Mumbai, around 333 candidates are contesting.

Development versus nationalist rhetoric

The BJP, going against the usual trend, focussed more on the issues of nationalism and nation-building, on the issues of Kashmir and terrorism. At several rallies, candidates and party leaders flared up communal sentiments by making anti-Muslim and anti-minority statements. The Election Commission has issued showcause notices to several leaders across the state.

BJP’s Mumbai chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha and the Sena candidate from Mumbadevi constituency Pandurang Sakpal were issued showcause notices for claiming that the bombs and bullets used in terrorist attacks and riots were manufactured “in lanes within 5 km” of the campaign venue in Kumbharwada, Mumbadevi on October 16. The constituency has a sizeable Muslim population.

The opposition tore into the BJP for focusing on “non-issues” and dodging the pertinent state questions. In an interview with The Wire, former state chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan asked how the issue of Article 370 and Kashmir is relevant to the problems faced by the voters of Maharashtra. The dilution of Article 370 was one of the primary campaign issues for BJP in the state.

Also Read: For the Maharashtra Polls, BJP’s Big Obsession Has Been … Article 370

In what had begun as a one-sided election, the situation changed as the parties began their campaigns. The BJP campaigned hard, with most of its national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, touring the state to seek a second term for CM Devendra Fadnavis. The CM himself covered over 230 constituencies.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar turned out to be a star campaigner, addressing several rallies in spite of his failing health. The 79-year-old party chief was seen addressing a rally in Satara district amid heavy rains and the videos went viral on social media. The electoral battle for the 58 seats in the western part of Maharashtra is looked at as a prestige issue. A stronghold of Pawar’s party, the BJP is trying to emerge as a force to reckon with.

NCP president Sharad Pawar addresses a public meeting in rain in Satara district of Maharashtra. Photo: PTI

The Congress and the VBA focussed on local, state-related issues and accused the BJP of not doing enough for the state over the past five years.

The reluctant ally

Although the Sena agreed to share seats and stay in an alliance with the BJP, it has been expressing discontent. The two parties were unable to declare the seat-sharing figures until the last day of filing nominations, fearing backlash from the karyakartas. As expected, a huge number of Sena activists either boycotted or left the party.

Under the seat-sharing agreement, the BJP will get the top post and Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena has demanded the deputy chief minister’s position. Thackeray’s 29-year-old son Aaditya Thackeray, who is contesting election for the first time has been vying for the position. This is also the first time that anyone from the Thackeray family is contesting an election in the five decades since Bal Thackeray founded the party.

Even after entering into an alliance, the Sena continued to take digs at the BJP. The Sena decided to oppose the BJP over the contentious Aarey forest issue and criticised Fadnavis for cutting over 2,000 trees in the forest.

Similarly, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut criticised the BJP for carrying out a “high-powered” campaign in the state even when it claimed there was no opposition left in the fray.

While the Congress-NCP are in an alliance, the parties did not campaign for each other. Instead, they decided to stick to their own seats.

Prime minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena president Uddhhav Thackeray and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale at an election rally in Mumbai. Photo: PTI/Shashank Parade

Crorepati candidates

According to an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), over 1,000 candidates fielded by different political parties are crorepatis. ADR has looked into the information revealed in the candidates’ affidavits and has inferred that the BJP-Sena has the maximum number of rich candidates.

For instance, Parag Shah, the BJP candidate from Ghatkopar East constituency, is the richest in the poll fray with declared assets worth Rs 500 crore. Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP candidate from Malabar Hill seat, is the second richest with assets worth Rs 440 crore. The Congress’s Sanjay Jagtap is the third richest candidate with assets worth Rs 245 crore.

The study also analysed the criminal records of 3,112 candidates, revealing that as many as 916 (29%) have declared criminal cases against themselves.

Maharashtra Elections: Tracking the Changing Fates of Congress and BJP

After the saffron parties reduced the Congress-NCP combine’s strength, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has emerged as a credible alternative.

Mumbai: 2014 was a definitive moment in Indian politics, not just at the Centre but also in Maharashtra. Until then, Maharashtra was essentially a Congress-led state, with a non-Congress opposition never winning a majority on its own. The only time the Bhartiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine came to power, in 1995, was because of substantial support from independent and rebel MLAs.

The BJP, until the last assembly election, had only played second fiddle to the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Winning just half as many seats as the Sena, the party mostly relied on the Gujarati and other non-Maharastrian, migrant votes in the state. It was considered an insignificant opposition in the assembly.

The 2014 assembly election, however, changed the political equation and the Congress is on the verge of losing what is perhaps its last stronghold. Of the 21 chief ministers that the state has had (three when it was Bombay state, before Maharashtra was formed in 1960), only two Sena leaders – Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane – took the top job, that too within a period of five years. The state, before and after, has usually chosen the Congress-NCP combine.

What changed in 2014?

The 2014 state assembly polls, scheduled soon after the general elections, was directly impacted by the “Modi wave”. The change in power at the Centre determined the verdict.

Also Read: Interview | ‘BJP Have Me on a Radar’: Ashok Chavan Speaks on Congress’s Hopes in Maharashtra

A closer look at the vote share and the number of seats won indicates that the Congress performed its worst in the elections to the 288-member assembly – the second largest after Uttar Pradesh’s 403. The grand old party won merely 42 seats, down from 82 in 2009. The NCP too lost its ground in some crucial seats in western Maharashtra and Mumbai. Its tally dropped to 41 seats from 62 in 2009. The BJP, which had contested on its own, sprung a surprise by winning 122 seats, up from a meagre 46 before.

Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi. Photo: PTI/Files

Marathas shift gears

The Congress-NCP combine was largely supported and run by the Maratha-Kunbi community. Across regions, most party leaders are from these peasant communities and played a crucial role in determining the political strategy while also leading the state for several decades. It is estimated that Marathas constitute over 35% of the state population and represent 70% of the political leadership.

However, a shift in their political allegiance could be traced in the 90s, when the BJP was able to consolidate the Maratha votes, particularly in the Vidarbha region. Farmers’ crisis, aided by the Hindutva agenda, had largely influenced the voters in the region. The shift became clear in 2014, when the party managed to win 44 of the 62 assembly seats in Vidarbha, its best-ever performance.

Also Read: Maharashtra: In ‘Urban Manifesto’, Collectives Seek Better Living Conditions for All

In 2016, following the rape and murder of a teenage Kunbi girl – allegedly by three Dalit men, Marathas took to the streets. The initial demand for strict punishment to the accused soon took a political turn and instead of the rapists, the Dalit community became a target. Marathas sought dilution of the Prevention of Atrocities Act, which provides a safeguard to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. A demand for reservation in education and jobs for Marathas also rose.

The BJP cashed in on this opportunity, agreeing to their demands. In November 2018, the state legislature passed a Bill proposing 16% reservation for the Marathas. This decision, as expected, was challenged in the high court, which upheld it. The order stands challenged before the apex court now.

Maratha Kranti Morcha activists at a protest demanding reservation in jobs. Photo: PTI

This decision earnt the BJP massive support from the community. Several Maratha leaders defected from the Congress-NCP combine to the BJP. In June 2016, as Maratha protests were on, the BJP nominated Sambhaji Raje, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, to the Rajya Sabha. A few months ago, the NCP MP from Satara and a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Udayan Raje Bhosale, joined the BJP. The party also poached Bhosale’s cousin, Shivendra Raje Bhosale – another strong leader – from the NCP. Udayan Raje is contesting the Lok Sabha bypolls, and Shivendra Raje is contesting the assembly polls.

The ability to attract Maratha votes is considered to be chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ biggest achievement. This changed the BJP’s fortunes in the state, as it was previously considered a ‘shetji-bhatji’ i.e. a Brahmin-Baniya-ruled party. In 2019, the party has provided tickets to more than 50 Maratha leaders.

Fadnavis is only the second Brahmin (the community comprises less than 3% of the state’s population) chief minister of Maharashtra. Before him, Manohar Joshi of the Sena was elected but could not complete his term.

The third front

In every Maharashtra election, attempts have been made to float a third front. During elections, smaller parties and leaders with radically different politics have formed alliances, only to dissolve the arrangement later.

In 2009, 16 political parties – including the Republican Party of India (Athawale) group which was a part of the then ruling Congress-NCP government led by Ashok Chavan – had floated a third front. Left parties, the JDS, Samajwadi Party and smaller people’s group came together as an alternative to the ruling Congress-NCP and the opposition BJP-Sena. This alliance did not last more than a few months and after the election, each party went its own way. Despite contesting all the seats, it managed to win only 18.

A similar alliance was formulated again in 2014, with 18 parties joining hands. But this time, two crucial parties – the Swabhimani Party of Raju Shetti, Surajya Paksha, and RPI (Athawale) – decided to go with the BJP.

By 2019, Shetti parted ways with the BJP and decided to join forces with the Congress, both in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Although Maharashtra has had several smaller organisations and political fronts showing eagerness to collaborate and form an alternative front, they never had a clear agenda or a vision to carry it forward beyond an election.

But in 2018, in response to the state’s decision to clamp down on the Dalit and other Bahujan communities following violence at Bhima Koregaon near Pune, a new political thought took birth. It was soon named as “Vanchit Bahujan Party”, a party of the marginalised majority of the state conceptualised and headed by Prakash Ambedkar, a veteran political leader and grandson of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Also Read: Congress-NCP Mass Defections in Maharashtra Signal a Deep Rot in Leadership

The social movement soon took a political turn and the party decided to contest all 48 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. It will also contest all the seats in the state assembly. While the VBA has maintained that it was formed to give the state an alternative to both the saffron and the Congress party politics, it has been accused of playing a spoiler. Some, including the Congress, went on to accuse the VBA as the BJP’s “B-team”.

The VBA experimented in the Lok Sabha elections by fielding almost all candidates from marginalised communities which seldom got political representation. It managed to fare well in the general elections, with a sizeable vote share of over 9%. It is now in full swing to take on the BJP in the assembly election.

At a time when the Congress is ailing in the state, the VBA has emerged as a true political alternative, with over 200 social and political organisations joining it.

It started off with an alliance with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), but the alliance was soon broken. In the assembly polls, the party is contesting all the 288 seats. It was the first party to announce the castes of its candidates.

VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar. Photo: PTI

The stage in 2019

The depleted Congress-NCP has also had to deal with many senior leaders switching sides. Some of these leaders will contest on behalf of the BJP and some on behalf of the Sena. Unlike the 2014 state assembly elections, the Congress and the NCP have stitched together a pre-election alliance. Similarly, after several rounds of negotiations, the Sena and BJP have also allied.

Also Read: Maharashtra Polls: Tickets Turn Sore Point in Saffron Alliance, Cong-NCP Struggle For Candidates

While the BJP has faced the peculiar problem of having surplus candidates, the Congress and the NCP have struggled to find appropriate candidates to pose a challenge to the saffron parties. The Congress also had to increase its number of candidates after talks with smaller parties failed. The party had originally planned to field 125 candidates but has finally come up with a list of 155.

The Congress’s Mumbai leadership has been in shambles for the past five years. Most leaders, including Sanjay Nirupam, have kept away from the election campaigns.

To accommodate leaders who have defected from the Congress or NCP, the BJP and the Sena are now facing problems with their own cadre and second rung of leadership. Because most leaders who defected are senior and have clout in their respective regions, the saffron parties had to field them in the elections. At least nine newly inducted Congress and NCP leaders will contest on a BJP ticket. This has meant that at least 12 sitting MLAs have been denied tickets, leaving them and other leaders unhappy.

The decision to drop big names from the BJP’s list has also caused problems. Veteran leaders like Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawade, Chandrasekhar Bawankule and Raj Purohit have been denied tickets. Khadse immediately declared that he would contest as an independent candidate. The party, however, placated Khadse by fielding his daughter Rohini from the Muktainagar constituency in north Maharashtra. Khadse has represented this seat since 1991, but after his name emerged in a corruption case in 2016, he had to resign and has been in the wilderness since.

Aarey Tree Felling: Protests Continue, Activists to Approach CJI

Prakash Ambedkar was taken into preventive custody on Sunday.

New Delhi: As the protests over felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey colony continue, a group of environmental activists have decided to approach Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to intervene.

According to News18, a delegation of students will visit CJI Gogoi’s residence in Delhi on Sunday and request him to exercise “special jurisdiction” to “go out of the conventional way to put a stay on the felling of trees in Aarey by Mumbai Authorities”.

After the Bombay high court refused on Friday to hear petitions challenging the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to chop more than 2,600 trees in the Aarey colony to make way for a metro shed, felling of trees began.

As The Wire reported, more than 1,000 trees were estimated to have been felled on Saturday despite protests from activists, politicians – including by the Shiv Sena, which administers the BMC, citizens and celebrities. Police took at least 29 persons into custody on Saturday. Another 55 people were taken into preventive detention.

On Sunday, the student delegation told the media that they have decided to approach the CJI because “there is no time left for filing an appeal petition and going through legal technicalities as by then Aarey will be cleared off by the Mumbai Authorities”. Prohibitory orders continued to be in force in the colony and surrounding areas on Sunday.

The police on Saturday imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Aarey, restricting movements and gathering of groups, and cordoned off the area.

Activists tried to get relief from the Bombay high court, by approaching the court again on Saturday and seeking a stay to tree cutting, so that they could approach the Supreme Court. The court refused to admit the plea.

Workers cut-down trees for the Metro car shed project in the Aarey colony of Mumbai on October 5, 2019. Photo: PTI Photo

More leaders detained on Sunday

Prakash Ambedkar was among politicians who were taken into preventive detention on Sunday. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader tried to enter the Aarey Colony in support of activists who are opposing the cutting of trees in the area to make way for a Metro car shed.

He said the Maharashtra government was using “muscle power” to silence those raising voice against tree felling.

When the VBA chief reached the Aarey area located in suburban Goregaon on Sunday, he was detained by police for a brief period. Later, after being released, he told reporters, “The green cover at Aarey Colony helps in the purification of air, the same way as fresh breeze coming from the Arabian Sea helps in keeping Mumbai air clean.”

“We were told that some 700 trees have been axed. We will continue to oppose the tree felling in all forms, even if we fail to come to power in the state after the upcoming assembly elections,” he said.

VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar. Credit: PTI

Members of a tribal community who reside in the forest area have also opposed the tree cutting, as they are largely dependent on the forest for their livelihood.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has defended tree felling, saying it is restricted only to a small area in the Aarey Colony and is necessary to ensure a modern transport system. The proposed car shed for the Metro-3 line (Colaba- Bandra-Seepz) will occupy 33 hectares.

Heavy security deployed

Heavy security was deployed at Aarey Colony’s five entry points, including the key connecting road near the Western Express Highway, to prevent people from going towards the area. Most shops, restaurants and roadside stalls remained closed in the area in view of the imposition of Section 144 since Saturday.

Patrolling was stepped up in the tribal hamlets located in Aarey area and those found assembling there were being taken into custody, but later let off after proper verification, he said.

He said that Section 144 will remain imposed in the area till the 2,600 trees are cut.

(With PTI inputs)

How a Budding Social Alliance Helped Elect Maharashtra’s First Muslim MP in 15 Years

In Aurangabad, Dalits, Muslims and other communities who faced communal violence united to buck the national trend.

Aurangabad: Anyone visiting Aurangabad can sense the brewing emergency in the air. In late April, in the thick of the election, a video surfaced of a teenager – seemingly a Muslim – who abused prominent personalities of Maharashtra. Rival parties alleged that the video was being distributed by the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a newcomer to the city’s politics.

Harshvardhan Jadhav, an independent candidate who was formerly with the Shiv Sena, responded with his own video, demanding an apology from the AIMIM and threatening to ransack its offices. Jadhav is also the son-in-law of the state BJP president, Raosaheb Danve.

Imtiaz Jaleel, the AIMIM’s candidate, shared another video in response, which helped calm the situation. In the video, Jaleel, while appealing for peace, denied all allegations against the AIMIM and urged the police to take strict action against those trying to instigate violence in the city. Jadhav was forced to share another video taking back his threat and apologising to the city police. This timely and sensible intervention both by the police and Imtiaz Jaleel, who represents the alliance of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and AIMIM from the Aurangabad constituency, saved the city from another bout of violence.

Also Read: Why a Former Journalist’s Electoral Victory in Aurangabad Is So Significant

On May 23, Imtiaz Jaleel won the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat, becoming the first Muslim MP from Maharashtra in 15 years, and the first Muslim MP from this constituency since the Congress’s Qazi Saleem in 1980.

A new solidarity

During the campaign, the city witnessed a new solidarity, especially between Muslims and Dalit-Bahujans of the city, regularly on display at the party office of MIM at Buddi Lane near Jama Masjid in the old part of the city. In my conversations with supporters of Imtiaz Jaleel, everyone was enthusiastic about the cross-community alliance – and its potential as a watershed moment for the growth of and peace in Aurangabad in the coming years.

With a Muslim population of about 31% and Schedule Caste population of 15.7%, Aurangabad, in the heartland of Marathwada, is a hotbed of communal polarisation. Incessant violence since the 1980s, and the militant politics of the Shiv Sena resulted in a deep segregation of the city on religious and caste lines. The demand to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar has created a more recent spectacle of Hindutva power-politics.

In January 2018, the city was hit by violence after the Bhima-Koregaon clashes. That May, again, two people died and many shops and properties were destroyed in communal violence.

The city seems on the edge of descending into a curfew-like situation. Even on the day of the Lok Sabha election results, offices and shops closed early as rumors of possible violence spread.

Urban local body elections in Aurangabad are essential for control over the city. The first corporation elections in 1988 turned the city into a battleground, and many people died. In 1985, just three years before the elections, the Shiv Sena had inaugurated the party’s city branch. There was full-scale rioting during the municipal elections in 1988 because of the Sena’s anti-Muslim politics. It won 27 of the 60 seats in the first municipal corporation elections of the city. Since then, it has been the main contender. Its dominance has led to deep-fissures in the city’s social fabric.

From the late 1980s, the Shiv Sena would dominate the parliamentary constituency; Chandrakant Khaire held his seat from 1999 to 2014.

MIM’s entry

Imtiaz Jaleel with Asaduddin Owaisi. Photo: Facebook

In 2015, AIMIM made its debut in civic body polls. It won 25 of the 113 seats, and emerged as the second-largest party, after the Sena-BJP alliance. In the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections, the AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel won the Aurangabad Central seat. In later municipal elections, the party worked to consolidate Dalit, Muslim and OBC votes. It has worked in its favor, presenting a secular and accommodative image on the ground.

After last year’s Bhima-Koregaon attacks, many Dalit voters moved away from the Shiv Sena. Four-term MP Chandrakant Khaire lost the citizens’ confidence more generally. His interference in the municipal corporation and zilla parishad had alienated residents, and the city’s garbage and water crisis had become his signature failures. This also contributed to Harshvardhan Jadhav’s split from the Sena-BJP alliance. As a result, this election was a battle between two pro-Hindutva candidates, Jadhav and Khaire. This allowed the MIM-VBA candidate to win by a margin of just 4,492 votes over Khaire.

Post-1980, incessant violence in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Aurangabad has forced Muslims into geographic areas where they are cut-off from the mainstream. This spatial division has made Muslim spaces more vulnerable to violence, and irrelevant and invisible to the larger electoral and cultural politics of the nation.

Also Read: In Maharashtra, Congress Proved to be Its Own Enemy

Since the communal violence of 1988 in Aurangabad, the city has become more segregated everyday due to the capture of the political stage by Hindutva parties. In the absence of a progressive politics to bridge the gaps between the communities, ties could not be rebuilt.

In 2019, however, a new assertion – bringing together Dalits, Muslims and other communities who faced the worst of the violence these last three decades – offered a glimpse of a new politics, and of a city turning from hate and toward assimilation and peace.

Asaf Ali Lone is an independent researcher. His research interests are urban segregation, marginalities and resistances.