VBA's Prakash Ambedkar meets Sharad Pawar; says it does not mean his outfit is joining Oppn bloc INDIA

NCP working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule was also present at the meeting. Speaking on the meeting, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan said it was a "good omen".

Mumbai: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday met Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on the sidelines of an event here but replied in the negative when asked if it could result in his outfit joining the opposition bloc INDIA. Both Pawar and Ambedkar were speakers at an event titled 'Unleashing India's Economic Potential: Dr Ambedkar's Legacy Lives On' at YB Chavan Centre in south Mumbai.

"There were 15 more people (when the two met). We had coffee in Pawar's office after the inaugural session of the event," Ambedkar, who is the great grandson of social icon and legendary jurist Babasaheb Ambedkar, told PTI. To a query on whether the meeting with Pawar could result in him joining the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, which also includes Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), Ambedkar replied in the negative.

NCP working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule was also present at the meeting. Speaking on the meeting, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan said it was a "good omen". The VBA and the Maha Vikas Aghadi must come together for the upcoming polls, he said.

"Even though Ambedkar said they met over coffee during a function, it is a positive development. There will be some some communication in future in terms of alliance of VBA and MVA," Chavan said. (PTI)