With less than three months left for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations to hold elections, it is still unclear whether Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will be part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal stated that there is no formal proposal to include MNS as the new partner in the MVA.
A day after MVA and MNS announced to stay united for local polls to fight BJP and its allies, the MVA leaders from Maharashtra briefed the media in Mumbai about their plans. “The Congress alone cannot decide on the inclusion of the MNS. All stakeholders of the INDIA bloc parties will sit together and decide on the issue,” Sapkal added.
On November 1, all Opposition parties (MVA), including the MNS, had organised a protest rally in Mumbai against the irregularities in the electoral rolls. However, Sapkal’s absence from the rally had become a talking point as many in the Opposition, on condition of anonymity, claimed that the Congress was reluctant to have any proximity with the MNS for the latter’s tirade against the non-Marathi speaking people in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai.
Earlier, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had suggested that to avoid a split in the Opposition votes, the Congress should consider having MNS on board with MVA. The elections for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations are likely to be held before January 31, 2026, as per the deadline set by the Supreme Court to complete local body polls in Maharashtra.
Sorting issues at local level
Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab and Shashikant Shinde — state president of Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party — jointly addressed a press conference in Mumbai where the Maha Vikas Aghadi announced the formation of a state-level coordination committee to address issues pertaining to candidates and other matters at the local level. Shinde told mediapersons. “The panel will work to have better coordination at the local level.”
