MUMBAI: The ruling Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena and Jogendra Kawade-led People's Republican Party of India on Wednesday announced an alliance ahead of civic and local body elections in Maharashtra.
The alliance could bring in Dalit votes for the Chief Minister Shinde-led party which is seeking to consolidate its base after splitting the Shiv Sena last year and toppling the Uddhav Thackeray government.
Speaking at a press conference with Shinde, Kawade said he was forming alliance only with the 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (the official name of the Shinde group). "Maharashtra has got a very daring chief minister. There is a feeling that this is a government of everyone. We are very impressed by him," said Kawade, a veteran Dalit leader.
The main ideological thrust of the alliance would be the reformist ideals of Jyotiba Phule, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Dr B R Ambedkar and `Prabodhankar' Thackeray (Sena founder Bal Thackeray's father who was a well-known reformer), Kawade said.
Notably, the tie-up was announced when talks are ongoing between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi of Prakash Ambedkar, an influential Dalit leader.
The Ramdas Athawale faction of the Republican Party of India (RPI) has been an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for long.
Kawade, a prominent member of the Ambedkarite movement in Maharashtra, is the founder of the People's Republican Party of India and also a former Lok Sabha MP.
The RPI, which has roots in Dr B R Ambedkar's Scheduled Castes Federation, later fragmented into a number of factions.