After the elections in 288 civic bodies of Maharashtra, now all eyes are on Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Elections for 29 municipal corporations are going to be held in the state on January 15, of which BMC and PMC are the most important. Before these elections, there has been a rift in the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Congress has decided to fight separately in both Mumbai and Pune, while its old allies have started adopting different paths.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) vice-president Mohan Joshi on Thursday said that the Congress will not forge an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) or the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, as both these parties have decided to contest the Pune Municipal Corporation elections together.
Mohan Joshi says that a meeting of the State Congress was held in Mumbai, in which State President Harshvardhan Sapkal has given clear instructions that Congress should consider an alliance with like-minded parties like Shiv Sena (Uddhav Bal Thackeray), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. If Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) wants to join then it is welcome. Congress will contest Pune elections along with parties that believe in secularism and democracy.
Also read: Uddhav is losing the battle of inheritance, how did Eknath Shinde become the political heir of Bal Thackeray?
NCP and NCP (SP) are one, Congress is on the sidelines
The original NCP in Maharashtra was Sharad Pawar’s party. Nephew Ajit Pawar took over uncle Sharad Pawar’s party in his name in the year 2023 and he had to form a new party. The family is coming together under the leadership of one sister, Supriya Sule. Both the parties have decided that they will contest the civic elections together. The family is uniting, which has hurt Congress.
Two days ago, Congress leader Satej Patil had said that he had received an alliance proposal from Ajit Pawar for the Pune elections. Mohan Joshi has clearly said that NCP (SP) and Ajit Pawar’s NCP are contesting the elections together, hence Congress will not form an alliance with either of them.
Also read:Maharashtra civic elections: Mahayuti won again and again, MVA lost every time, where was the mistake?
Why NCP is angry with its ‘family’ uniting?
NCP (SP) Pune city president Prashant Jagtap had resigned from the party post and membership on Wednesday. According to reports, he was angry with the alliance with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Mohan Joshi said that if Jagtap wants to join Congress, he is welcome, but there has been no contact with him yet. If they express their desire then the state Congress leadership will take appropriate steps.
Congress on the path of ‘Ekla Chalo’ in Mumbai
Congress has decided to separate from the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and contest alone in Mumbai’s BMC elections. Due to this, there is a rift in the opposition camp. Now the elections have become multi-party. Congress has taken this decision because of the alliance of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Why is Congress angry with Uddhav Thackeray?
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena does regional politics. The party is involved in allegations of discrimination on Indian grounds. Party chief Raj Thackeray himself has been infamous for his inflammatory statements, his hatred and irritation with the people of UP-Bihar has been in the headlines. The Congress says that MNS’s stance on linguistic identity and the issue of North Indian immigrants is against the inclusive image of the Congress.
Ramesh Chennithala, Congress in-charge, Maharashtra:-
We cannot be part of an alliance that pursues divisive politics.
Why did Congress distance itself from MVA?
Congress’s strategy is to connect minority, Dalit and migrant voters. The alliance of Maharashtra Navnirnana Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) is making Congress uneasy. Although Shiv Sena also has a similar past but Congress had formed a mismatched alliance in 2019. Later Uddhav Thackeray changed his stand. Shiv Sena had left its traditional image and tried to appear secular. Uddhav Thackeray has angered his ally Congress by joining hands with Raj Thackeray for the BMC elections.
Also read:Mahayuti’s big victory in Maharashtra civic elections, BJP becomes the largest party
What is the agenda of Congress?
Congress will focus on local issues in Maharashtra. Congress is advocating better infrastructure and transparency in power. The present government is being accused of neglecting local interests. Congress is also going to prepare a charge sheet, in which the shortcomings of the Mahayuti government will be mentioned.
Profit or loss, what equations are being created in favor of Congress?
Political analysts say that this decision is risky for Congress. In recent elections, opposition unity has proved crucial against the organizational strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Now the ruling Mahayuti alliance may benefit from the divided opposition. It has been proved in the civic elections and the assembly elections held in the year 2024 that if Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party fight together, then it is certain that the opposition will be marginalized. Congress’s ground presence in Mumbai has weakened. The challenge is to field strong candidates in all 227 wards. Talks are going on with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, but there are differences on seat distribution.
How important are BMC elections that Congress has upset its own people?
Due to BMC’s big budget and strong influence on the administration of Mumbai, every party wants its own power over it. This is very important politically. The Congress was once dominant in Mumbai’s city politics, but its seats have steadily declined over the last three decades. In the 2017 elections, undivided Shiv Sena got 84 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party got 82 seats and Congress got only 31 seats.
Congress is also running away from Uddhav because of Raj Thackeray
Raj Thackeray’s party in Maharashtra, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, has been at the center of criticism for its extremist agenda. Congress promises to take everyone along. Policy wise, the ideology of both Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is the same. Raj Thackeray was once the political heir of Bal Thackeray. After Uddhav Thackeray’s entry into politics, Raj Thackeray felt sidelined. Now both the brothers are entering politics together. Raj Thackeray’s style has been extremely aggressive and he has been in the news due to his inflammatory statements.
Ramesh Chennithala, Congress in-charge, Maharashtra:-
We cannot join forces that divide the city on linguistic basis. Our issue is development, not dispute.
What is Congress’s strategy for Maharashtra?
Congress is a secular party. Congress leaders are betting on Muslim, Dalit and North Indian vote banks. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and former MP Mohammed Azharuddin have been deputed to campaign in Telugu and Urdu speaking areas. Analysts say that the Grand Alliance may indirectly benefit from a multi-cornered fight.
Whether this move of Congress succeeds or not, it will decide the future of Mumbai as well as the direction of Congress in Maharashtra. The MVA consists of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), while the grand alliance includes BJP, Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP. The elections are scheduled to be held on January 15. Votes will be counted on January 16. Congress is very excited about this election.
What is the condition of other parties?
There are total 277 seats in BMC. After the split in Maha Vikas Aghadi, now Shiv Sena and BJP are trying to strengthen the Mahayuti alliance. Traditionally, Uddhav Thackeray has influence on BMC elections. With the coming together of Raj Thackeray, the party’s position may become a little stronger. BJP does not want to take the risk that they may get any benefit from this alliance. Earlier there were speculations that there could be a rift between BJP and Shiv Sena over seat sharing but now both the parties are in talks for a consensus.
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