As the union of the Thackeray brothers had already created fissures in the Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA), the Congress party took a stand to contest the BMC Election alone, with a message that would not align with Raj Thackeray's party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The unilateral decision by Congress has not gone down well with Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. Back-door talks are still underway with the Congress high command to bring them on board, but the local unit (Mumbai Unit) is adamant to go solo.
For the past Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the Opposition fought collectively as Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA), involving Shivsena(UBT), Congress, and NCP(SP). But for the BMC election, the alliance is not working out as both Shivsena(UBT) and NCP(SP) want to include a new partner, MNS, whereas Congress had distanced itself from MNS.
The Thackeray brothers had joined hands recently and have been seen together taking a stand against the ruling Mahayuti government in the state. After the announcement of the BMC elections, fast-paced developments were seen in order to make a formal announcement of the alliance between Shivsena (UBT) and MNS. Sources revealed that Uddhav Thackeray is of the firm opinion that there should be a collective opposition fight against the BJP to avoid division of votes. But Congress had already declared to contest the BMC election alone.
As the talks of the Thackeray brothers' alliance are in the final stage and announcement can happen at any time soon, sources revealed that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had a telephonic conversation with Rahul Gandhi to join hands for a collective fight. Efforts are being made to contest the BMC election as the Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA). Shivsena (UBT) is also insisting on a collective fight against the BJP.
In the recently held local bodies election for 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 117 seats, while the Mahayuti alliance (BJP, Shivsena, and NCP) together crossed 200. The election was seen as a semi-final ahead of the BMC election, and the Opposition cannot afford any division of votes. It would be crucial to see whether the Mumbai Congress will agree and contest the BMC polls as part of an alliance.
After taking the stand to contest solo, Congress is working out an alliance option with like-minded parties. Recently, the delegation of Mumbai Congress under Varsha Gaikwad met Sharad Pawar. NCP had been an old traditional alliance partner of Congress in Maharashtra. Talks with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) of Prakash Ambedkar are also underway.
As the Thackeray brothers' formal announcement is expected soon, Uddhav Thackeray is keen to take NCP (SP) on board. Sanjay Raut already met Sharad Pawar and discussed a way forward.
