Maharashtra elections: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi announces first list of 11 candidates, including a transgender | Mumbai news

The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) on Saturday announced its first list of 11 candidates, including a transgender, for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. VBA president Prakash Ambedkar, who announced the candidates at a press conference in Mumbai, said Shamibha Patil, a transgender from the Leva Patil community, will contest the Raver assembly seat in Jalgaon district. Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra state assembly are likely to be held in November.

The VBA’s other candidates are: Savita Mundhe from Sindhkhed Raja, Medha Dongare from Washim, Nilesh T Vishwakarma from Dhamangaon Railway, Vinay Bhange from Nagpur South West, Avinash Nanhe from Sakoli, Farooq Ahmed from Nanded South, Shiva Narangle from Loha, Vikas Dandge from Aurangabad East, Kisan Chavan from Shevgaon, and Sangram Mane from Khanapur.

“Staying true to our sacred ideology, we have given representation to the deprived bahujan groups with the aim of gaining true representation and political power, and breaking the hegemony of families of certain castes,” Ambedkar said while announcing the list. The party has named candidates from different social communities, which have been socially and politically excluded by the mainstream parties and their successive governments, he said.

“In the coming days, more names will be announced. We are in touch with very prominent political parties and soon more parties will join our alliance,” Ambedkar said. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, the VBA had tried to join hands with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP). However, talks between them failed to proceed further. The Ambedkar-led party then contested several seats in the polls on its own, but could not win any.