"We are upset with this coalition..." RPI upset over Kawade faction's alliance with Eknath Shinde

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 10 : Republican party of India (RPI) leader Avinash Mahatekar on Tuesday expressed displeasure with the alliance between Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and Jogendra Kawade-led People's Republican Party of India and said that the alliance has not gone down well with the party.
Talking to ANI, the RPI leader expressed displeasure that they were not taken into confidence before forming the alliance, despite they already being coalition partners with BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.
"We are upset with this coalition with Jogendra Kawade as it was done without consulting Ramdas Athawale or any other senior RPI leader. We wouldn't comment on the capabilities of Kawade, but our leaders should have been consulted before such a big coalition. We have also asked for time to meet Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis," he said.
Incidentally, the speculations were making rounds that Kawade-led PRP would also be contesting on the same seats that Athawale-led RPI is aiming for.
However, Mahatekar refuted any such claims, and said, "Kawade's party has contested previously as well, and there is no comparison between the performances of the two parties. So, we can't speculate like that."
The RPI leader and former Maharashtra minister further alleged that Kawade is coming into the alliance only for "reaping" benefits.
Until October last year, the PRP was an ally of the Congress and a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.
"Sometimes back, Jogendra Kawade was a coalition partner with Congress and also had an MLC. Now, when Congress doesn't have anything to give them, they are allying with CM Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena to reap benefits. But, this is not going to benefit them, and in this regard, we are also going to meet Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde," he said.
The PRP has been raising the cause of Dalits that emerged in the late 1990s from a split in the Republican Party of India (RPI), the inheritor of the political legacy of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Scheduled Castes Federation.
A new twist in Maharashtra politics came when Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena party on January 4 announced an alliance with the Jogendra Kawade-led People's Republican Party of India in Mumbai ahead of the local bodies polls in Maharashtra.
Addressing a joint press conference Jogendra Kawade, a veteran Dalit Leader praised Maharashtra CM and said, "The state has got a courageous Chief Minister. People have a good feeling about Eknath Shinde as he took many bold decisions after becoming the CM."
Kawade also said that he decided to form an alliance only with Balasaheb's Shiv Sena after being influenced by this bold decision.
Meanwhile, Shinde also praised Kawade and said, "We already share a good bond with each other as we both have reached here after many struggles. We were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths, our leadership has developed through a lot of hardships and sacrifices. Now we are coming together to do justice to common people, this alliance will be for the interest of the state."
Republican parties play a key role in attracting Dalit vote banks in the state as they propagate the ideology of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, therefore the alliance could bring in Dalit votes for the Chief Minister Shinde-led party.