Cong leader Wadettiwar supports tie-up with MNS for civic polls; 'politics of convenience', says BJP

Mumbai, Nov 22 (PTI) The Congress in Maharashtra appeared divided on allying with Raj Thackeray-led MNS in the upcoming local body polls, with senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar favouring united contests, contradicting the state and Mumbai Congress leaders on the issue.

Wadettiwar, however, suggested that the Congress wouldn't compromise on its ideology for forging alliances.

He referred to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's statement underlining the importance of Opposition unity for defeating the BJP.

"Ultimately, ideology matters. We are positive towards a united fight, including MNS. Everyone must come together to defeat the BJP," the Congress Legislature Party leader told reporters on Saturday.

He referred to the MNS's participation in the 'Satyacha Morcha' organised by the opposition MVA in Mumbai earlier this month against the alleged discrepancies in the voters' list.

Wadettiwar's open support for MNS flies in the face of the Mumbai Congress unit, which had announced to go solo in the BMC polls. State Congress chief Harshawardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".

The growing proximity between Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, and MNS headed by his cousin Raj Thackeray, had apparently shaped the Congress's decision to contest elections independently.

In a thinly-veiled jibe at MNS, Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad had maintained that the Congress will never tie-up with those people who take the law into their hands and intimidate others.

Wadettiwar, meanwhile, claimed that the BJP's internal surveys predicting significant gains for the party in the upcoming Mumbai civic polls were "fabricated".

"It is a fictional narrative created by the BJP. This is a desperate attempt to influence public perception. Many new voter identity cards mysteriously appeared in Mumbai yesterday; perhaps the BJP wants to repeat what they did in Bihar. They want to end democracy," he alleged.

Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule criticised the Congress for what he described as its "politically convenient" shift in stand over aligning with the MNS.

Bawankule said the Congress had earlier firmly opposed any alliance with the MNS due to the latter's aggressive agitations against Hindi-speaking people.

"The party leadership had adopted that stance, fearing a backlash from voters in the recently held Bihar assembly elections. Now the Congress is changing its stand for its own convenience ahead of civic polls in Maharashtra," he alleged. PTI ND NSK