Maharashtra Congress announced an alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the BMC elections, with the VBA contesting 62 of 227 seats. This comes as other major alliances shift, with the Thackeray brothers and NCP factions reuniting.
Congress-VBA Alliance for BMC Polls
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Sunday announced that the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) will contest 62 of the 227 seats under the alliance in the BMC elections.
Sapkal said the BMC elections are not about a struggle for power for the Congress, adding that seat-sharing is not the party’s primary concern. “Both the parties are coming together. They will contest 62 seats. This is not a power struggle, but a convergence of ideas, and for us, seat sharing is not that important; we will go forward with the ideas,” he told ANI.
Shifting Alliances in Maharashtra Politics
The BMC elections, along with 28 other municipal corporations, are witnessing a shift in Maharashtra’s alliance politics, with the parties in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) going different routes. The Thackeray brothers, who had been estranged for years, have come together to ally ahead of the upcoming BMC polls on January 15. Even as the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra dismisses the political relevance of the alliance between UBT Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), the Thackeray loyalists are describing the moment as “historic,” hoping that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray joining hands would bring the ideology of “son of the soil” or the ‘Marathi Manoos’ plank to the forefront again.
NCP Factions Reunite for Pune Polls
The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to reunite ahead of the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation elections. NCP (Sharad Pawar) Spokesperson Ankush Kakade confirmed the alliance and shared that seat-sharing discussions are yet to be held with the party.
“Nationalist Congress Party- Sharadchandra Pawar and Nationalist Congress Party- Ajit Pawar have decided to contest the upcoming Pune municipal elections together… We have a meeting with our other partners this afternoon,” NCP-SCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade said. “No discussions have been held on seat sharing. We will talk to Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), and all four parties will sit together to discuss the seat-sharing formula… Ajit Pawar’s faction and our faction’s ideology are the same,” he added.
Mahayuti Finalises Seat-Sharing
Meanwhile, Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ameet Satam on Saturday said that the Mahayuti has reached a seat-sharing agreement on 207 seats, with the BJP contesting on 128 seats and Shiv Sena on 79. The decision for the remaining 20 seats will be based on candidates, Satam said.
State Election Commission Announces Poll Dates
The State Election Commission in Maharashtra has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)