The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress have decided to form an alliance in the Maharashtra local body polls. The Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has also decided to join the two, in a bid to keep Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena out of power from the Ambernath Municipal Council.
The Ambernath equation
The Shinde Sena won the maximum number of seats in the municipal body, making it the single largest party. Ambernath is located in Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's stronghold Thane. The Shiv Sena secured victory in 27 of the 60 seats in the Ambernath civic polls, failing to cross the magic figure by a small margin.
Also Read | Videos surface of stone pelting, tear shells during Old Delhi demolition drive
The BJP won 14 seats in the local body, and the Congress won 12. Ajit Pawar's NCP secured victories in 4 seats, and independents won in three municipal constituencies.
Earlier, Ajit Pawar's NCP had announced an alliance with uncle Sharad Pawar's NCP (SCP) for the Pune municipal polls. Recent developments have also shown estranged cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray joining hands and releasing a joint manifesto for the much-anticipated and high-voltage Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Also Read | Assam clears over 6 thousand bighas of encroached land from Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary
Fadnavis calls alliance 'unacceptable', Congress takes action
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday ruled out the alliance with the Congress, calling it "unacceptable." He said the decision taken at the local level in Ambernath would be corrected. The local alliance has been named the 'Ambernath Vikas Aghadi'. The move has angered the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, which is upset over the BJP-Congress tie-up.
PTI quoted the Maharashtra Chief Minister in an interaction with a new channel, "I am making it very clear that any alliance with the Congress or AIMIM will not be accepted. If any local leader has taken such a decision on their own, it is wrong in terms of discipline, and action will be taken."
The Congress has also taken action against the councillors who allied with the BJP. The Maharashtra unit of the party suspended all 12 municipal councillors and Ambernath block president Pradip Patil for forming the 'Aghadi', Hindustan Times reported.
The BJP-AIMIM 'mis'alliance
A similar alliance has reportedly emerged in the Akot Municipal Council of Akola district. The BJP has joined hands with the AIMIM and other parties under the banner 'Akot Vikas Manch', with support from Shiv Sena (UBT), Shiv Sena, NCP, NCP (SCP), and Prahar Janshakti Party.
The BJP won 11 seats in the 35-member council, while AIMIM secured two. With backing from other parties, the alliance's strength has risen to 25 and was registered on Wednesday ahead of the January 13 deputy mayor and committee elections. Congress and the 'Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi' remain in the Opposition.
BJP leaders claimed several AIMIM councillors quit and joined the alliance, but AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel said party chief Asaduddin Owaisi has ruled out any tie-up with the BJP.
