After the BJP-Congress alliance failed in Ambernath, 12 Congress councilors joined BJP. This alliance was to keep Shiv Sena away from power. Now BJP can gain power in the council with the support of NCP.
Mumbai: Congress has suffered a major setback in Ambernath Municipal Council of Maharashtra. After the failure of BJP-Congress alliance, 12 Congress councilors joined BJP. This is the same councilor who was suspended from Congress for trying to form an alliance with BJP. These 12 people were suspended from the Congress after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that there would be no alliance with the traditional rival Congress in Ambernath.
This made things even easier for BJP. He invited the Congress councilors to join the party, after which all 12 people joined the BJP. In fact, BJP and Congress had tried to form an alliance to capture the council by keeping Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena away from power. But Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rejected this alliance formed by the local leadership, after which the Congress also took action against its councilors.
Local body elections were held in Ambernath on 20 December. Here Shinde’s Shiv Sena emerged as the largest party, winning 27 seats. To keep him out of power, the BJP had joined hands with its main rival Congress under the banner of ‘Ambernath Vikas Aghadi’ (AVA). BJP got 14 seats, Congress 12 and Ajit Pawar’s NCP got four seats in the council. These three parties had formed an alliance together. As a result, Congress was voted out of the Municipal Council and BJP’s membership increased. Now BJP can gain power in Ambernath with the support of NCP.