Congress finally announces formal decision to go solo in BMC elections

Congress will contest BMC elections solo, rejecting an alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) due to concerns over its ties with MNS, party leaders confirmed.

MUMBAI: After repeatedly indicating its reservations on an alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT) due to the latter’s decision to ally with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Congress on Saturday finally announced that it would go solo in the BMC elections. Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad expressed this desire of party leaders and workers in a Congress training session on Saturday, and Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala upheld and announced it.

Congress finally announces formal decision to go solo in BMC elections

The Mumbai Congress training session, which was held at Malad, was also attended by party state unit president Harshwardhan Sapkal. He and other leaders tried to boost the morale of party workers after the party’s massive defeat in the Bihar assembly elections and urged them to gear up to win the BMC.

Gaikwad, in her speech, urged party workers to strive for the victory of Congress candidates in all 227 wards of the BMC. After she pointed out to the leadership that leaders and workers alike in Mumbai wanted to fight the BMC polls alone, Chennithala said, “As the Congress has decided to go with the decision of local leaders in the civic body polls, the party will fight the BMC elections on its own.”

The Maharashtra in-charge also refuted claims about a split in the Congress and said neither would there be a split nor would the party since it was “an ideology”, not a party. He expressed confidence that the party would stand up again as it had several times in the past after severe defeats.

In a tangential reference to Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Gaikwad said the Congress could not ally with parties who had been violent with people from other states. “The Congress believes in taking all people along together,” she said. “But some parties beat up people from other states. This is not Congress culture and is completely unacceptable. We explained the sentiments of Mumbai Congress party workers, and leaders upheld the decision as per the party policy to go with the local units’ decision on any alliance.”

Gaikwad added that the party would discuss the possibility of an alliance with like-minded parties such as the Republican Party of India (RPI) factions and the NCP (SP). She remarked that in the coming days, the Congress would expose the corruption in the BMC and raise its voice about citizens’ issues.

When contacted, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former mayor of Mumbai Kishori Pednekar said that if Congress leaders had decided to go solo, it was their internal party matter. “Despite the defeat in Bihar, their party leaders have taken this decision, and it is their prerogative,” she said. “Our party leadership will decide our stand on it.” Another Sena (UBT) leader, Ambadas Danve, added that for the local body elections, decisions on alliances had been left by all political parties to local leaders.