Sharad Pawar wants MVA-MNS tie-up for BMC polls; Congress resists

Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad asked Shiv Sena (UBT) to choose between the Congress and the MNS.

Mumbai: Days after the Congress signalled its discomfort with forging an alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the Mumbai civic polls, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar indicated that he wanted the opposition coalition, Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), to remain intact and contest the elections along with the Raj Thackeray-led party.

Mumbai, India – July 04, 2024: Congress MP and President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee Varsha Gaikwad, at MRCC office, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, July 04, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

According to NCP (SP) insiders, both Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray are expected to make efforts to keep the MVA united for the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. However, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad pushed back on Friday and asked Uddhav Thackeray to choose between the Congress and the MNS.

“I can clearly say that we are not going with [MNS], and we have been speaking for the last two months. Our stand has been clear: if [Shiv Sena (UBT)] want to contest with us, they should leave [MNS] and come with us. We do not have any problem holding an alliance with them [for the BMC elections],” Gaikwad told reporters.

Without naming the MNS, she added that the Congress doesn’t like to be associated with those “who beat up people, take law into their hands and force them to do certain things”. This was seemingly a reference to the MNS’s recent assaults on Hindi-speaking persons in different parts of Maharashtra over the use of Marathi.

Gaikwad’s remarks followed a November 19 meeting where she and senior Congress leaders met Pawar and NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule to express the Congress’s desire to contest the BMC elections together. She described the Congress and NCP (SP) as natural allies whose unity should remain intact even during civic elections.

Soon after the meeting, Pawar discussed the matter with his party’s Mumbai leadership. Party insiders said Pawar was of the view that the MVA should consider bringing the MNS on board for the BMC polls to defeat the Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. “He even said that if MVA and MNS together can hold protests against vote theft, then they can also fight the elections as one unit,” said a senior NCP (SP) leader.

Sule echoed her father’s line a day later, saying the party wants the MVA to contest together and that she would speak to Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress. “We want to take everyone along, whether it is the MVA or the INDIA bloc. We are open to working together. More clarity will emerge next week,” she told reporters on Thursday.

However, Gaikwad’s remarks on Friday made it clear that the Congress is firm on its decision to stay away from the MNS. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said that the party respects Pawar’s opinion, but alliance decisions have been left to the local units.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), however, insisted that their discussions with the Congress leadership are still ongoing. The party is treading cautiously on the matter, as its alliance with the Congress in last year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly polls helped consolidate traditional Congress votes behind Sena (UBT) candidates in Mumbai.

Former Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar said, “Discussions are ongoing with the Congress leadership and even with Varsha Gaikwad. All the political parties are required to remain together if they wish to change the current political situation.”

Pednekar added that there is no need to make assumptions regarding the alliance, as the final decision is yet to be made.