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New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday suspended its local leadership in Ambernath after Congress councillors aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the municipal council leadership, triggering embarrassment for the opposition party amid a wider political controversy over post-poll civic alliances in Maharashtra.
Vice president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Ganesh Patil wrote to Ambernath Congress block president Pradeep Patil, informing him of his suspension for entering into an alliance with the BJP without the knowledge or approval of the state leadership.
"This is not a good thing, so as per instructions by the state president, Harshwardhan, you are being suspended from the party."
In the letter, Ganesh Patil said the Congress had contested the civic elections on its own symbol and secured 12 seats in the Ambernath Municipal Council, but the decision to join hands with the BJP surfaced only through media reports.
Calling the move “unacceptable”, he said the action was taken on the instructions of state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal.
“We have fought elections on the Congress symbol and won 12 seats. However, without informing the state leadership or the state office, you have entered into an alliance with the BJP. This is not a good thing. As per the instructions of the state president, you are being suspended from the party,” the letter stated.
The disciplinary action comes amid controversy over post-election alliances forged by the BJP with rival parties in two municipal councils, Ambernath in Thane district and Akot in Akola district.
In Ambernath, the BJP joined hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar under the banner of ‘Ambernath Vikas Aghadi’ to form the civic body’s leadership, sidelining ally Shiv Sena despite it emerging as the single largest party.
The development drew a sharp response from Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who rejected the cross-party arrangements and warned of action against BJP leaders involved in such tie-ups.
In the 60-member Ambernath Municipal Council, the Shiv Sena won 27 seats, the BJP 14, the Congress 12, the NCP four, and two independents.
The BJP–Congress–NCP combine crossed the majority mark with the support of an independent, leading to the election of a BJP councillor as council president on Wednesday.
