E-Paper
Cousins, uncle-nephew reunite, allies fight: Latest in Maha civic poll, an election of strange dynamics | 5 point
Maharashtra local body elections, including the BMC polls, showcase unusual dynamics as allies clash and estranged ties mend.
The upcoming Maharashtra local body elections or civic polls, in which the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election will also take place, has turned out to be a battle of strange dynamics with allies fighting against each other, filing complaints as well as estranged ties reuniting.
To give some context to the above, both factions of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by nephew and uncle Ajit and Sharad Pawar have joined hands for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) election, while the estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have also reunited for the BMC polls. Track latest updates on Maharashtra civic polls here
Elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state – including the BMC – will be held on January 15. The results of the elections will be announced on January 16, when the counting of votes will take place.
Latest in Maharashtra civic polls
-BJP files complaint against own ally: Maharashtra BJP general secretary Rajesh Pande said the party has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission over illegal hoardings allegedly put up by its Mahayuti ally NCP and other parties in Pune ahead of the civic body polls, PTI new agency reported on Tuesday. During an interaction in Pune on Sunday. chief minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said he has asked the party workers not to put up illegal hoardings and refrain from installing flex and banners, as they deface the city's beauty.
-Fadnavis mocks Thackeray cousins' reuinion with video: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Monday slammed recently united Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav and MNS leader Raj Thackeray, saying the January 15 Mumbai civic body poll is a battle of survival for the cousins, and not the Marathi people. Addressing a rally in Mumbai in support of the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) alliance, Fadnavis said that Mumbai is an inseparable part of Maharashtra and no one can dare to break it away. He asked the organisers to play video clips of the Thackeray brothers, who parted ways in 2005, criticising each other in the past, and added there was no need for him to say anything else, PTI reported.
-NCP factions join hands: Nationalist Congress Party chief and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday addressed questions raised over his party's call to join hands with the breakaway faction and said that there is "nothing different" about contesting the polls separately from the Mahayuti alliance, as the parties have decided to fight in such a way to "empower and support" their respective workers. The deputy CM said in an ANI news agency interview allying with Sharad Pawar's NCP faction for the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad election could lead to the vote share being consolidated, which would itself help them.
-Ajit Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis war of words: In a another development, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday responded sharply to criticism from deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, saying that while Pawar prefers to speak, he believes in delivering work. During an interaction with Marathi actress Girija Oak in Pune, Fadnavis said, “Ajitdada talks, I work,” as HT reported earlier. Fadnavis underscorid what he described as his government’s focus on performance rather than rhetoric. The comment came amid rising political tensions between the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP ahead of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation elections.
-BJP-Congress Ambernath alliance drama: Following a week of high-pitched political drama over the BJP-Congress alliance shocker, Shiv Sena-backed NCP councillor Sadashiv Hender Patil was on Monday elected vice-president of the Ambernath Municipal Council (AMC) in Maharashtra by defeating the BJP nominee. The election, which took place during a general body meeting of the council, was reportedly preceded by a ruckus and shouting match between BJP and Shiv Sena councillors. Recently, a rare alliance titled the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi (AVA) - comprising the BJP, Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and local Congress members - was announced by local leaders to challenge Shiv Sena's long-standing dominance. The tie-up was rejected by parties' leadership. Ambernath Municipal Council poll took place in December.
