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Congress improves tally in Pune civic polls from 2017
Senior party leader Mohan Joshi said the decision to avoid an alliance with either NCP faction had worked to the party’s advantage
The Congress delivered an improved performance in the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, increasing its seat tally to 15 from nine in the 2017 polls, even as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) continued to struggle in the city.
Contesting independently in what was largely a bipolar fight dominated by the BJP and the two NCP factions, the Congress managed to better its earlier showing. Senior party leader Mohan Joshi said the decision to avoid an alliance with either NCP faction had worked to the party’s advantage.
“Despite adverse conditions, we managed to improve our record without diluting our ideology. We will continue to work for the people and for the betterment of the city,” he said.
Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde said the party’s performance was encouraging, given the circumstances. “Despite all odds, our performance is better. If one looks at the votes polled by candidates in each ward, the division of votes helped the BJP consolidate its position in the city,” he said.
Shinde added that had the Maha Vikas Aghadi remained intact, the outcome could have been different.
“We could have emerged as a strong opposition party or even been close to forming the mayor’s post,” he said.
Shinde also alleged that the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP had a tacit understanding.
“From day one, we maintained that the BJP and Ajit Pawar’s NCP had a hidden alliance. Since they are together at the Centre and in the state, both contested separately to split votes, which naturally benefited the BJP,” he claimed.
Another Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said minority voters had consolidated behind the Congress. “Once Muslim voters realised that the NCP was effectively the BJP’s B team, they preferred the Congress over the NCP factions,” the leader said.
During the campaign, the Congress remained largely on the margins, with public attention focused on the BJP and the two NCP factions.
