As the Maharashtra civic body polls near, all key parties in fray are working to finalise their alliances before the big day. Amid all the alliances formed, latest reports claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) are working to join hands for the Ambernath Municipal Council polls.
With this contest, the two rival parties were expected to come together to contest against Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena in the upcoming Maharashtra civic polls.
The leadership of both parties has reacted strongly to the reports and dismissed the possibility of an alliance.
The civic polls had already stirred a few controversies, with Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) joining hands with Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP and rallying against coalition partners for the elections to municipal corporations, including the much-awaited Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
BJP-Congress alliance in Maharashtra?
In Ambernath, local BJP leaders had reportedly joined hands with Congress, aiming to weaken as well as keep its ally, the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, out of power.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has slammed the decision, which he claims was made by local leaders.
{{/usCountry}}Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has slammed the decision, which he claims was made by local leaders.
{{/usCountry}}“The BJP can never form an alliance with the Congress or the AIMIM. Such alliances are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. If any local BJP leaders have entered into alliances with these parties without approval, it is a serious breach of party discipline and strict action will be taken,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sachin Sawant also dismissed reports of a BJP-Congress alliance, saying that workers from various party affiliations had come together against the “corruption carried out by Shinde Sena at the local level”.
“In Ambernath, setting aside party affiliations and symbols, various party workers have formed the Ambernath Development Front against the corruption carried out by Shinde Sena at the local level. Independents are also included in this. Therefore, news reports claiming that Congress and BJP have come together are incorrect,” he wrote on X.
During a press conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut reacted to the move and called it a “double standard” by the BJP. “They have formed an alliance with AIMIM in Mira Bhayandar and with Congress in Ambernath,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to the development. She wrote on X: “It’s all happening in Maharashtra! BJP and Congress get into an alliance to keep the third party out.”
Shinde Sena reacts to BJP-Congress alliance
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Shiv Sena MP and Eknath Shinde’s son, Shrikant Shinde, said that Sena and the BJP have been in an alliance for a long time at the state level, and it has been their aim to establish the Mahayuti government at the local level as well.
“You should ask the BJP’s senior leaders about this alliance with the Congress. Shiv Sena’s politics in Ambernath has always been of development,” he said on the ally’s move.
The upcoming polls are likely to be the most divided civic elections the state has witnessed, as allies face off against each other and long-time rivals join hands in a high-stakes numbers battle.