Big jolt to Congress & NCP in Maharashtra: Prakash Ambedkar rules out alliance, says 'no option of talks with Cong'

Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar on Tuesday ruled out the possibilities of joining the Congress-NCP alliance in Maharashtra, days after the anti-BJP front reached out to the head of  the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) led by Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh for an alliance with them for the Lok Sabha elections 2019. 

Making an announcement in Maharashtra's Akola district, Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of the architect of the Constitution late B R Ambedkar, said that all options of alliance talks with Congress and its ally NCP in the state have come to an end, adding that he can't go ahead with it. 

Furthermore, sources have told that on March 15, Prakash Ambedkar will announce the names of candidates for 48 seats to be contesting from Maharashtra. 

On March 3, senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil wrote a joint letter to Prakash Ambedkar, urging him to join their alliance to fight against the BJP and the Modi government in a bid to "protect the Constitution and democracy".

READ: Congress, NCP Reach Out To Prakash Ambedkar To Join Anti-BJP Front

Meanwhile, as per reports, he stated that he would be contesting the 2019 polls from Solapur constituency in the state, while earlier there were speculations that the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader will be contesting the polls from Akola seat.

Reportedly, former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde had been representing the Solapur seat. 

READ: National Approval Ratings: After BJP-Shiv Sena Alliance, NDA Is Predicted To Make A Clean Sweep In Maharashtra, UPA Falls Far Behind

The Election Commission on Sunday announced the dates of General Elections 2019. While the 543 seats of 29 states and 7 Union Territories will go into polls in seven phases beginning from April 11 till May 19. The counting of votes for all the states is scheduled to take place on May 23.

Elections in Maharashtra are set to take place in four phases starting from April 19 to April 29.