Social coordination between the two major alliances has become the cause of political bickering in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The two alliances are the Mahayutthi Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Maha Vikas Aghadi Alliance led by the Congress Party. Both alliances have made headlines for their seat-sharing arrangements and candidate announcements. Ambedkarit politics is an important aspect of Maharashtra’s political landscape but has been marginalized in public discourse. Forced by sub-regional traditions, ideological differences among the Ambedkarite parties have become entrenched, reducing their electoral significance in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar’s politics in Maharashtra were shaped by two major ideologies: the republican school and the Bahujan school. Each of these streams followed different ideological paths and leadership styles, resulting in a fragmented political discourse that hampered the collective strength of Ambedkarite politics.
republic school
This school of thought originated from the Indian Republican Party and was first conceived in 1956 by Dr. BR Ambedkar. Over time, the RPI split into many factions, but two main factions remain. The first faction is the RPI faction led by Ramdas Attawal, the current Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in the Modi government. Athawale’s political base is mainly in Mumbai and surrounding urban areas. By allying with the BJP, Atharwal has maintained his influence in Maharashtra politics by providing urban Dalits with access to government resources.
The second faction is the Indian Republican Party – Bahujan Mahasangh, also known as Bharatiya Bahujan Mahasangh, led by BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar. He has now formed Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. Prakash Ambedkar’s political influence had strong influence in the Maharashtra regions that had been part of the Nizam’s Hyderabad. The communist movement had a strong influence in these areas and, therefore, their politics were more associated with left-wing ideologies. In the 2019 general elections, the VBA formed an alliance with the All India Muslim Congress led by Asaduddin Owaisi and won the Aurangabad Assembly constituency.
But in the 2019 parliamentary elections, the two parties took different approaches, with the VBA leadership complaining that their supporters were actually transferring votes to AIMIM candidates, but AIMIM voters were not friendly to voters. Following this split, the VBA attempted to appeal directly to Muslim voters by nominating a large number of Muslim candidates and addressing the community’s issues in its agenda.
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The VBA was in the limelight recently as its supporters tried to block Yogendra Yadav’s Save the Constitution movement in Akola, where Prakash Ambedkar was campaigning. Both factions of the Republican school seek to promote Dalit interests, but their ideological differences pose significant challenges. Ramdas Athawale’s alliance with the BJP reflects a right-wing position, while Prakash Ambedkar’s political views are left-wing. This ideological divide is a legacy that prevents these factions from coming together and increasing the influence of Ambedkarite politics in Maharashtra’s electoral politics.
bahujan school
This school of thought originated from the Bahujan movement started by Kanshi Ram, who also took inspiration from Dr. Ambedkar. The Bahujan Samaj Party is the first representative of the school, but not the only unit. Backward groups and minorities are small political groups born out of the disillusionment of the trade union union leadership. In 1986, several senior founding members of BAMCEF broke away and formed their own party due to differences with Kanshi Ram over the future direction of the BSP.
Currently, the original branch of BAMCEF is represented by a group led by BD Borkar and Waman Meshram. These two branches also have their own independent political parties: the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He sought to distance himself from Kanshi Ram’s “Bahujan” or “Dalit” heritage by adopting the term “mulnivaasi” (aboriginal people) for political mobilization.
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The country lacks charismatic leadership
Divisions within the Republican and Bahujan wings of Ambedkar’s politics weakened the unity needed to build political strength in Maharashtra. The divisions across the state have become more acute in the absence of a charismatic leader who could galvanize the Ambedkarite movement across the state. In the absence of such unified leadership, Ambedkar’s politics has struggled to gain mass support and has lost momentum and influence in Maharashtra. This was very evident in this election.
Although Prakash Ambedkar and Ramdas Athawale established bases in their respective regions, both lacked the presence in Maharashtra under the same banner The appeal and influence needed to organize multiple Ambedkarite groups in the state. This weakens their bargaining power, which is evident in coalition politics. Despite all his efforts, Prakash Ambedkar failed to join the MVA.
The BJP, on the other hand, offered nominal seats to the Athawale-led BJP. Dr. Ambedkar left a long legacy and created a discourse that transcended left and right. His legacy provided a strong ideological base to Ambedkar’s politics not just in Maharashtra but across India.
However, this kind of politics is marginalizing the political landscape of Maharashtra on a daily basis. The fragmentation, ideological deviation and lack of charismatic leadership of the Ambedkarit movement were important reasons behind it.
(Reporting – Arvind Kumar and Shrikant Borkar)
(Arvind Kumar is a visiting lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Shrikant Borkar is a Bard Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK.)
