The Congress move to name Abhay Kashinath Patil from Maharashtra's Akola has put a firm period to its intended friendly ties with Prakash Ambedkar's VBA (Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi). Though the alliance plans of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the VBA fell through, the Congress and Mr Ambedkar had declared support for each other, especially in Akola, a seat the Dalit leader wished to contest.