Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday warned of potential damage to its alliance with Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena (UBT), after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, along with others, teamed up with the BJP, resulting in the election of the saffron party’s candidate as mayor of Chandrapur Municipal Corporation.The development was a major setback for the Congress, which was poised to win the mayor’s post but lost by just one vote.BJP corporator Sangeeta Khandekar was elected mayor, while Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Prashant Danav became deputy mayor.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged “horse-trading” and blamed Shiv Sena (UBT), Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, and Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).“In the Chandrapur mayoral election, the BJP secured 32 votes and Congress 31. The Sena (UBT) is an ally in the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the INDIA bloc. With its six corporators, the Sena (UBT) was expected to support the Congress. But the party chose to go with the BJP. This development will have consequences in the state,” Sapkal told reporters in Mumbai.“The BJP also gained the upper hand with the support of the AIMIM. If the VBA, with whom we had formed a genuine alliance in the civic body polls, had backed the Congress, our candidate would have won. There was horse-trading,” Sapkal added.Addressing the factional feud within the Chandrapur Congress, he said Congress corporators were “united,” and that he had personally resolved differences among party leaders in the city.“It is only because of the Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM, and VBA that the BJP could install its mayor,” the Maharashtra Congress chief asserted.Till Monday, alliances in the 66-member Chandrapur Municipal Corporation remained unclear following a fractured verdict in the January 15 polls.The Congress emerged as the largest party with 27 seats, while the BJP came a close second with 23, triggering a race between the two rivals to form a coalition and secure the mayor and deputy mayor posts.The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), a former BJP ally, won six seats, while three went to the Bharatiya Shetkari Kamgar Paksh (Janvikas Sena), two to the VBA, and one each to AIMIM, BSP, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, a BJP ally. Two independents also secured wins. The poll results were declared on January 16.(With PTI inputs)
