Mr. Chennithala attended a party meeting of all senior leaders at Santacruz in Mumbai. The primary agenda of the meeting was to discuss the Congress’s roadmap for the 2026 BMC elections.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s proposal to align with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has caused unease within the Congress. On Monday, the Congress’s Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala clarified that the party has not held discussions with any other party regarding the upcoming civic polls. The statement followed Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut’s suggestion that the MNS could be part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Some Congress leaders have strongly opposed the idea, particularly with the Bihar Assembly elections on the horizon.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Raut had claimed that MNS wants Congress to be part of the Opposition alliance for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls. He said he has already spoken to AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal and he will also speak with Rahul Gandhi, while Uddhav Thackeray will discuss the issue of MNS with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
However, Mr. Chennithala ruled out any discussion regarding alliance with the MNS, which is known for its anti-North Indian stand. “I spoke to Mr. Raut even today. But he did not bring up the MNS issue. We have got no such proposal from anyone and we have not held any discussions with anyone regarding joining hands with the MNS,” the Congress leader said.
Mr. Chennithala attended a party meeting of all senior leaders at Santacruz in Mumbai. The primary agenda of the meeting was to discuss the Congress’s roadmap for the 2026 BMC elections.
According to sources, a section of Congress leaders in Mumbai opposed any alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), arguing that it could harm the party’s minority and non-Marathi vote bank in the city. In fact, they all demanded that the Congress contest the upcoming BMC elections independently, claiming that the current alliance with Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) is benefiting only the Shiv Sena (UBT) and not the Congress.
Mumbai Congress leaders argued that in the 2024 Assembly elections, Congress voters shifted in favour of the Thackeray group, while Congress failed to gain any reciprocal advantage from the Thackeray faction’s vote bank.
However, Mr. Chennithala denied any leader objecting to alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. “It is true that they want the party to contest the election on its own. Generally, the decisions regarding alliances for local body polls are taken by the local party unit. But we have not taken any decision regarding the BMC or any other municipal election in Maharashtra,” he said.
When asked if Congress will consider alliance with the MNS after Bihar polls, Mr. Chennithala reiterated that there was never any discussion with anyone regarding the MNS alliance.
The local body elections are expected to be held in Maharashtra from January next year. Out of the 780 local bodies in rural and urban areas spread across the state’s 36 districts, as many as 687 are currently under the control of administrators, with elections long overdue.
