Mumbai: Ahead of local body elections, the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) met and announced that there is no proposal yet to include the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) into the alliance.
State Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal also said, “I have already stated before as the state president that we will take a decision through discussions.”
His statement comes a day after the party denied any tie-up with MNS in Nashik for local and civic body elections after the announcement was made by the local leaders on Monday.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray was part of the Opposition delegation that recently met the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and State Election Commissioner (SEC) to highlight errors in the electoral rolls, especially with regard to duplicate and bogus voters.
The MNS chief was also present in the Opposition’s protest organised on November 1 on the same issue. However, Sapkal chose to keep himself away from the morcha and he was conspicuous by his absence during meetings with the CEO and SEC.
Congress insiders said that the decision on getting MNS on board will be taken after the outcome of the Bihar Assembly elections.
State NCP chief Shashikant Shinde after the meeting told reporters, “No such proposal has come before the Maha Vikas Aghadi yet of including MNS. If such a proposal comes, we will sit together and discuss it and take a decision.”
The statements by Shinde and Sapkal are important as Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has already announced that he and MNS chief Raj Thackeray have come together to stay together and hinted that they would together contest the upcoming elections to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation.
Apart from Shinde and Sapkal, NCP (SP) Working President Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Anil Parab were also present at the MVA meeting.
On the issue of MVA allies fighting the local and civic body elections in an alliance, Sapkal told reporters that, “It was decided in today’s meeting that if there are any differences within the MVA or if there is a need to discuss candidates, a coordination committee would be formed and it will be authorised to take decisions.
“There will be a state-level coordination committee of our allies and the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the coordinators of each party will be in it. If there is any difficulty or disagreement, this committee will be given the authority to find a way out and take decisions. A detailed discussion took place at today’s meeting on how to face the upcoming elections.”
Sapkal further stated “We are together as Maha Vikas Aghadi and India Alliance. We have fought the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections together. We are ready to fight elections together in the future as well. We are working hand in hand to take on BJP in the state and the country.”
Sapkal said, “November 17 is the last date to file nominations for the Nagar Panchayat and Municipal elections. After that, we will come together again and discuss. If a proposal regarding MNS comes at that time, we will discuss it.”
IANS
Going quiet, stepping up philanthropy: Warren Buffett in farewell letter
New Delhi: Billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett, in his letter to shareholders, has said he will “go quiet” after stepping down as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Berkshire Hathaway at year‑end....
Suicide attack to avoid getting caught, cause maximum damage: Sources on initial Delhi blast probe
New Delhi: The initial investigation into the car explosion near Delhi's Red Fort Metro Station has hinted that this could be a suicide attack to cause maximum damage, said sources...
China’s lithium projects in Tibet a ‘quiet erosion’ of the region’s autonomy: Report
New Delhi: China's large-scale lithium production that started in Tibet in 2025, is a "quiet erosion of Tibetan autonomy" as benefits primarily leave the region and "flow eastward" to Mainland...
Telangana: Battle prestige in Jubilee Hills bypoll
Hyderabad: Jubilee Hills is geared up for a tense and tight battle in the bye-election as the ruling Congress is pulling out all the stops to wrest the seat from...
UN chief supports views of US airstrikes in Caribbean, Pacific violating international humanitarian law
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports the views of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk that the US airstrikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific violate...
Ideological rift between TMC and hill ally BGPM over mandatory singing of Bengal ‘state anthem’
Kolkata: A fresh ideological rift has emerged between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and its hill ally, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), following a West Bengal government directive making the...
In Sindh’s ‘graveyard of dishonoured women,’ Pakistan’s feudal culture still fuels honour killing
New Delhi: Fattu Shah, a remote village in northern Sindh, Pakistan, hides a grim secret — a burial ground locals call the “graveyard for dishonoured women.” The unmarked graves, devoid...
‘August 11 order returns’: Supreme Court advocates on stray dog removal directive
New Delhi: As the Supreme Court issued a series of directions to protect key public spaces from the growing menace of stray dogs and to clear highways of stray cattle...
Human Rights Watch accuses China of pressuring filmmakers to withdraw from IndieChina festival
New York: Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based advocacy group, has accused Chinese authorities of harassing several dozen Chinese film directors and producers, along with their families in China, to...
Mamdani ‘excited’ to be immigrant mayor, but on tough road to affordability goal
New York: Zohair Mamdani, newly elected as the city's mayor, expressed excitement at being the first immigrant in generations to lead a city built by immigrants, emphasising his core priority,...
Sudan crisis needs immediate, deeper world attention
New Delhi: Horrifying reports of mass massacre of innocent people coming from Sudan have once again brought out magnitude of the human cost of brutal conflict that is taking place...
KC Venugopal counters Tharoor’s dynastic politics critique, defends Nehru-Gandhi legacy
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday firmly distanced himself from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s controversial remarks on dynastic politics, asserting that the Nehru-Gandhi family’s leadership was earned...
