Mumbai: Prakash Ambedkar, leader of the scheduled castes and grandson of B.R. Ambedkar, who was recently in the news for tying up with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), on Thursday met Congress leaders of Maharashtra to hold talks regarding a possible alliance.

But according to a Congress source, the party is not interested to roll out an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar due to him forming an alliance with the AIMIM.

The Chief of Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, Mr. Ambedkar, held the meeting with the Congress leaders at the official residence of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.

During the meeting, former state Congress chief Manikrao Thakare too was present, according to a Congress source.

Mr. Ambedkar told Mr. Vikhe Patil and Mr. Thakare that he is interested in forming an alliance with both the Congress and AIMIM, the source said.

“Congress does not consider AIMIM as a like-minded party. It has communal image, which helps the BJP. Vikhe Patil and (state Congress chief) Ashok Chavan will discuss Ambedkar’s proposal with the central leadership,” the source said.

Earlier, before the meeting, Ambedkar has spoken to the reporters that he wants to forge an alliance with the Congress party but has got reservations about the NCP party which is its ally currently.

“I have joined hands with the AIMIM and now kept the doors open for a tie-up with Congress. But I am not comfortable with the NCP, as its Lok Sabha member from Satara talks in favour of Sambhaji Bhide,” he said.

Udayanraje Bhosale, the NCP lawmaker for Satara has previously expressed his support to Bhide. Bhide is a pro-Hindutva leader who is currently facing a police case for allegedly being involved at Koregaon Bhima near Pune in January this year.

But Mr. Ambedkar has also claimed that the leader of NCP, Sharad Pawar is secular, while his party is not such.

A leader from the Congress party has expressed his opinion on the condition of anonymity that like-minded parties need to project solidarity to counter the BJP in the state in the coming next year’s Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

“In a multi-party polity like in Maharashtra, coalitions have become a situational compulsion since none of the parties have capable candidates for all constituencies. Congress and NCP are the main parties in Opposition and they have to accommodate smaller outfits,” the leader said.

Both the Congress and NCP parties have declared that they are preparing to fight the elections together and have approached farmer leader Raju Shetti, Kapil Patil of the Loktantrik Janata Dal and the CPI and CPM for alliance talks, he said.

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