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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has joined hands with the Congress party and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party to secure a majority in the Ambernath Municipal Council in Maharashtra's Thane district.
The move has angered the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which emerged as the single largest party in the civic polls. Shiv Sena MLA Balaji Kinikar termed the BJP–Congress alliance an "unholy and opportunistic" arrangement, accusing the BJP of abandoning its ideological position for power.
Addressing a press conference, Kinikar said the BJP was practising double standards. "On the one hand, the BJP raises slogans of 'Congress-mukt Bharat' nationally, while on the other it has no hesitation in aligning with the Congress for power in Ambernath," he said, adding that the two parties were ideologically opposed but had come together purely for political convenience.
Kinikar alleged that the BJP had ignored the public mandate by forming what he described as an "unnatural alliance". While asserting that the Shiv Sena would support development works in the city, he said the party would play an aggressive opposition role and expose any wrongdoing or corruption in the municipal council.
Reacting to the developments, Shrikant Shinde said the Shiv Sena's politics in Ambernath had always focused on development. Referring to the alliance between the BJP and Congress, he said the Shiv Sena and BJP had been long-time allies and that it was the party's aim to establish the Mahayuti even at the local level. "You should ask the BJP’s senior leaders why they chose to ally with the Congress," he told reporters.
The BJP–Congress tie-up enabled the formation of a new ruling alliance in the civic body, sidelining the Shinde faction despite it winning 27 seats in the 59-member council.
Defending the alliance, former BJP city president and sitting corporator Abhijit Karanjule said the arrangement was forged purely in the interest of Ambernath's development. He said the BJP, Congress, the NCP and the Republican Party of India had come together under the banner of the "Ambarnath City Development Front".
The municipal council has 59 members -- 27 from the Shiv Sena, 14 from the BJP, 12 from the Congress, four from the NCP, and the remaining independents. Although BJP leader Tejashree Karanjule was elected chairperson through a direct election, the BJP required the support of the Congress and NCP to establish control over the council.
