Ambedkar says his party ready to contest 200 seats in Mumbai civic polls

Mumbai, Dec 23 (PTI) Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar on Tuesday said his party is prepared to contest 200 seats in the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the January 15 elections.

Talking to reporters here, the grandson of chief architect of the Constitution, Dr B R Ambedkar, said, "We are prepared for 200 seats in Mumbai and our insistence is on a 50-50 seat-sharing formula (in case of an alliance with Congress)," asserting his party's strength in municipal bodies was evident.

The former MP noted it was not possible to give a state-wide deadline on alliances even in Mumbai at this stage as talks often move slowly.

Ambedkar pointed out that the Congress and the NCP (SP) were not coming together for the polls, forcing his party to decide whom to align with.

He added that no formal seat-sharing talks had yet begun with the Congress in Mumbai, but the VBA remained firm on an equal sharing of seats.

Using a light-hearted analogy, Ambedkar compared alliance talks to matchmaking, saying discussions were currently limited to "refreshments", and that the marriage would take place only after the bride was chosen.

Meanwhile, the VBA is expected to contest the Akola Municipal Corporation polls on its own, while talks between the Congress and the VBA for alliances in the Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar civic elections are said to be at an advanced stage.

Following the declaration of results of municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the state, discussions on a possible Congress-VBA alliance for the BMC elections have also gathered pace, with talks between the two parties held in Mumbai on November 22.

VBA sources said an understanding on a seat-sharing formula could pave the way for sealing the alliance for the civic polls.

India's largest civic body BMC, with a budget of more than Rs 74,000 crore for 2025-26, is among 29 municipal corporations in the state going to polls on January 15. PTI ND RSY