Congress leaders meet 'natural ally' Sharad Pawar to discuss tie-up for BMC polls

Mumbai, Nov 19 (PTI) Days after the Congress announced to fight the upcoming Mumbai civic body elections alone, the party's Mumbai unit chief Varsha Gaikwad and other leaders on Wednesday called on NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar to discuss a tie-up with its "natural ally".

The Congress said it wants to fight the Mumbai municipal elections with "like-minded parties" and that a decision about the tie-up will be made soon.

The grand old party, however, does not appear to favour the idea of joining hands with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray, with Gaikwad saying it cannot tie up with those who take law into their hands or indulge in intimidation.

Elections to the municipal corporations in the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are expected to be held in January 2026. In the last civic polls held in the metropolis in 2017, the Congress had performed poorly, winning only 30 seats On Saturday, after a day-long meeting of the Congress in Mumbai, its senior leader and Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala announced the party would contest the BMC polls independently and field candidates in all 227 wards.

On Wednesday, Gaikwad along with party MLAs Amin Patel, Aslam Shaikh and Jyoti Gaikwad met Pawar at his residence 'Silver Oak' here. Pawar's daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule was also present.

Talking to PTI, Gaikwad said Pawar is a natural ally of the Congress.

"He is a senior leader, and I went to meet him to discuss the civic polls and request him to join us. The civic polls are elections for party workers, which is the reason why the Congress has chosen to go solo," she said.

The Congress and NCP (SP) are constituents of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which also has Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) as the third partner.

Speaking to reporters later, Gaikwad said the Congress and NCP (SP) share a "natural alliance" as both parties uphold democratic and constitutional values.

"Discussions regarding a BMC poll alliance are underway. A final decision will be taken soon," she said.

Talks had already been held with NCP (SP)'s Mumbai unit president Rakhi Jadhav and other leaders.

"Congress has always formed alliances on the basis of a common minimum programme. For the BMC elections, we want to fight together with like-minded parties," she said.

Responding to questions about the possible inclusion of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS in the alliance, Gaikwad said there had been no discussion on the matter.

"Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had earlier indicated that the local body polls will be fought independently. If Uddhav and Raj Thackeray come together, we welcome it. But there has been no discussion with the Congress and we cannot join hands with those who take law into their hands or indulge in intimidation," she said.

Gaikwad said the BMC elections should be fought on civic issues rather than caste, region, language or religion.

"Mumbai is facing serious problems of pollution, potholes, traffic congestion, water supply, healthcare, education and corruption within the BMC. We will raise these issues strongly," she said.

Talking to PTI, Congress MLA Amin Patel said the decision to go alone in the local body polls in Mumbai was taken after three-month-long discussions with the grassroots cadre.

"We have to keep our karyakartas (workers) and voters intact in each of the 227 wards. The civic body has been ruled by the (undivided) Shiv Sena-BJP for 30 years. We want our issues to percolate on the ground," he said.

He said the city unit had informed the party leadership three months ago about the local unit's decision to go alone.

The Sena (UBT) on Tuesday asked the Congress to exercise restraint and avoid going solo in the BMC elections, cautioning that the move would help the BJP and weaken the MVA.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also reminded the Congress about its leader Rahul Gandhi's statement on "teaching a lesson" to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

"That lesson can be taught only if the Opposition remains united," an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

The editorial also made light of the Congress' concerns over a potential dent in its north Indian and Muslim voter base if the Raj Thackeray-led MNS is taken on board, saying the grand old party faced a rout in Bihar despite the Sena (UBT) and MNS not contesting there. PTI MR NR NP