Congress will ally with like-minded parties in Maharashtra local body polls: Sapkal

Mumbai, Jan 18 (PTI) The Congress will ally with like-minded parties in the upcoming elections to Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samiti in Maharashtra, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said on Sunday.

He also defended the Congress's poll pact with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi in the recently held civic polls.

"Alliances are not just about numbers but about shared ideology," he told reporters after attending a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting.

The Congress's decision to allot 62 seats to VBA under a seat-sharing agreement for the January 15 Mumbai civic body elections was questioned by some leaders.

The VBA failed to open its account in the Mumbai elections, while Congress won 24 seats.

Overall, the Congress secured 324 seats in 29 municipal corporations, which went to the polls on January 15.

Elections to 12 Zilla Parishads (ZP) and 125 Panchayat Samitis will be held on February 5, and counting of votes will be taken up on February 7. PTI MR NSK