Maharashtra: 12 suspended Congress corporators join BJP ahead of BMC elections

NAVI MUMBAI: The 12 suspended Congress corporators from Maharashtra’s Ambernath municipal council on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray accused the BJP of indulging in “dirty and communal politics”, claiming that the party has failed to address key public issues.

Thackeray said, “… We have been seeing this dirty politics by the BJP… Fadnavis has nothing left to do; he has done no work he can show to people, so he is doing communal politics… Sambhaji Nagar has water crisis. What did the BJP do there in the last 3 years…”

On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis conveyed his strong displeasure and asked local BJP units to end their alliances with the Congress in Ambarnath and with the AIMIM in Akot after the municipal council elections in the state.

The BJP, in a rare move, entered into an alliance with Congress to gain control over the Ambernath municipal council to keep out its ally Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.

Shiv Sena won the highest number of 27 seats, just four shy of a majority in the 60-member House. BJP, on the other hand, won 14 seats, Congress won 12, Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 4 seats, and two seats went to independent candidates, prompting BJP to ally with Congress and Ajit Pawar’s NCP.

The BJP also formed a similar alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and several other parties in the Akot Municipal Council in Akola district.

Following the alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called out the BJP for “their double standards” of giving a slogan of “Congress-free India” and then entering into an alliance with them to secure a majority in the Ambernath municipal council.

He also criticised the BJP for being in alliance with Ajit Pawar’s NCP, stating that Ajit Pawar does not believe in Veer Savarkar’s ideology.

Polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)