Opposition parties unite for Council polls

Mumbai: Four major opposition parties have joined hands for the Mumbai graduate constituency Legislative Council election. The Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have extended their support to and appealed for making Peasants and Workers’ Party (PWP) candidate Raju Korde successful. The election is set to be a three-horse-race where the Shiv Sena and BJP have also fielded their candidates. It will be the first test to see whether opposition unity has any takers among Mumbai’s educated classes.

Earlier, the Sena and BJP used to contest this seat jointly but this time, the BJP is fielding its own candidate as the Sena is contesting all other seats on its own.

NCP’s Hemant Takle claimed, “We are giving a progressive and secular option to the graduates of the city. Ours is a politics of development, jobs and other real issues. But on the other side, BJP is busy indulging in communal politics while Sena is confused about its sectarian and communal stand.” Congress and SP leaders, too, claimed that they would win the seat.  

For the first time in many years, four major opposition parties have come together. Though it is a graduate constituency and there is limited space, it will gauge educated Mumbaikars’ inclination towards the opposition’s grand alliance.