Congress to solo in Thane

The party had, on Friday, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to its MVA partners to finalise seat-sharing arrangements, which expired on Sunday

THANE: The Congress on Monday declared that it will contest the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) elections independently due to unresolved seat-sharing disagreements with its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies – the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

Congress to solo in Thane

The party had, on Friday, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to its MVA partners to finalise seat-sharing arrangements, which expired on Sunday. The last date for filing nomination forms is Tuesday.

In the previous TMC poll, the undivided Shiv Sena had won 67 seats, the undivided NCP 35 seats, the BJP 23 seats, while the Congress had managed just three seats. But this time, the party wanted to contest at least 35 seats.

Announcing the party’s decision to solo in Thane at a press conference on Monday, Thane City District Congress President Vikrant Chavan said, “The seat-sharing proposal we put forward was not accepted by the NCP (SP) or Shiv Sena (UBT). During difficult times, we had supported Jitendra Awhad, but today he has turned against us. That is why Congress has decided to fight the elections independently on all seats in Thane.”

Chavan rued that for the NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), the MNS had become a preferred ally over the Congress.

“They have allotted two seats to the MNS in a ward, but not a single seat to Congress. Even last week, NCP (SP) candidates filed their nomination papers in the presence of Jitendra Awhad without taking Congress into confidence.” he said.

Awhad responded to Chavan’s announcement, saying, “Vikrant Chavan is my friend. There seems to be some confusion. I will speak to him and try to convince him. As of now, no final decision has been taken on seat-sharing. Our alliance is intact, and we will fight the BJP and Shiv Sena unitedly.”

Meanwhile , there is no clarity on seat-sharing yet within the ruling Mahayuti alliance as well. NCP spokesperson Anand Paranjape had said that the party would wait till December 28, and contest independently if no update was received from Mahayuti allies till then.

During the seven-day period from December 23-29, a total of 4,130 nomination forms were distributed. On Monday, 100 candidates filed their nominations, taking the total number of candidates who have submitted nominations to 113.

The party-wise tally of candidates who have nominations are as follows: BJP - 15; Shiv Sena - 12; Shiv Sena (UBT) - 3; NCP (SP) - 19; NCP - 7; Congress - 2; MNS - 3; Indian Muslim League and AIMIM combined - 4.

Till Monday, six candidates from NCP (SP) and 10 candidates from the NCP had filed their nomination papers for the TMC poll.