Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson, Anandraj Ambedkar, is planning to ally with hardline All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) led by the Owaisi brothers for the assembly elections.
Anandraj, who leads Republican Sena, is the younger brother of former Lok Sabha MP Prakash Ambedkar, who heads Bharatiya Republican Paksha-Bahujan Mahasangh (BRP- BMS).
“We are testing the waters. Our party may put up candidates in 50 to 60 seats,” said Anandraj, confirming alliance with AIMIM and smaller fronts like those led by former high court judge BG Kolse Patil, former MP Sudhir Sawant's Shivarajya Party and social organisations to form 'Samvidhan Morcha.'
“It's true the Owaisis are extremists, but they have mass base among Muslims,” said Anandraj, adding that if AIMIM leaders make statements that go against the Constitution (and law), action should be taken against them.
Anandraj said he would not contest elections, but focus on campaigning. Samvidhan Morcha is also exploring tie-up with the Left Front. “We are trying to create a third force,” he added, stating that their manifesto would reflect issues related to the lives and livelihood of people.
AIMIM, led by MP Asaduddin Owaisi and Telangana MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, burst on to the political scene netting 11 seats in the 2012 Nanded civic polls. Nanded in Marathwada is the stronghold of former CM Ashok Chavan, who is one of the only two Congress nominees from Maharashtra to have been elected to the lower house.
In Nanded, AIMIM contested in alliance with Samvidhan Party, which picked up two seats. AIMIM, has its roots in ‘Razakars’, who supported Nizam of Hyderabad and resisted that state's integration into India. In Nanded it campaigned on issues like Muslim youth from Marathwada being picked up on terror charges and the anti-Muslim violence in Assam.
The Buddhist-Dalit dominated Republican Party of India (RPI) has already split into various factions with an amoebic intensity, beginning with 1957, the very next year it was formed. The crisis has been further compounded by the apathy of the educated Dalits who seem estranged from politics.
Buddhists-Dalits form the militant section of the community and are in a majority in the community (8% of the 14% Dalits in the state).
“The Ambedkarite community is gradually polarising and will support Republican Sena,” said Anandraj. It was Republican Sena workers who had occupied the Indu Mill land at Dadar in 2011 to highlight the long-pending demand for a memorial to Dr Ambedkar.
“We will stand on our own feet and restore the self-respect of the Ambedkarite movement. Today, many leaders from the movement are surviving on favours. We will strike it out on our own,” said Anandraj, adding: “This is a new experiment. A new miracle will take place in Maharashtra.”
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