Prakash Ambedkar-Asaduddin Owaisi to join hands for 2019 elections
Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Sep 15: Marking a new dimension in Maharashtra politics, the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will jointly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, an official said here on Saturday.
The BBM is led by Prakash Ambedkar while the Hyderabad-based AIMIM is headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, which has made inroads in the Maharashtra Assembly and several civic bodies in the state.
The BBM-AIMIM alliance will be sealed and announced in a public rally to be addressed by the two leaders in Aurangabad on October 2, an AIMIM spokesperson said.
Imtiaz Jaleel, the AIMIM legislator from the city, said here that the new alliance will fight for the rights of the Dalits, Muslims and Other Backward Classes who remain ignored since the past 70 years.
"They have no proper representation in politics, are merely treated as vote-banks during elections. It's a matter of shame for all the secular parties in the state that there is not a single Muslim person elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra," Jaleel pointed out.
He said now there is a huge awareness among Dalits, Muslims and OBCs who don't want to be treated as vote-banks anymore, but want a share in power.
"Owaisi has already requested Ambedkar to take over the leadership of this section of the population, since he's raising all the issues concerning these communities, fight the forces which are threatening to 'burn' the Constitution. This will become a major political force in the state," Jaleel added.
Earlier, Jaleel had held a preparatory discussion with Ambedkar in Pune and now the final shape of the alliance, the elections they will unitedly contest, the seat-sharing formula, etc, shall be declared next month.
Since the Koregaon-Bhima caste riots on January 1 and its political fallout, Ambedkar and the BBM have assumed a leading role in forging unity among the Dalits, and now extending to OBCs and Muslims, making it a potentially formidable force to reckon with in the next elections.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
