The statement comes amid speculation that Congress might adopt a softer stance toward Raj Thackeray’s party following the Bihar Assembly election results.
Mumbai:Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal on Wednesday dismissed speculation about a possible alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). He clarified that the party has not received any proposal from the MNS, nor has it taken any decision on the matter. The statement comes amid speculation that Congress might adopt a softer stance toward Raj Thackeray’s party following the Bihar Assembly election results.
Mr. Sapkal’s remarks come a day after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — comprising Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena (UBT) — announced that it would contest the upcoming local body elections together. The alliance also decided to form a state-level coordination committee to prepare for the polls.
At ‘Tilak Bhavan’ in Dadar, Mr. Sapkal held a key meeting of the State Parliamentary Board of the Congress Party with senior leaders, including Congress Legislative Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, Legislative Council leader Satej Patil, Congress Working Committee member Naseem Khan, MP Rajani Patil, and Nana Patole. The meeting focused on finalising candidates for Municipal Council and Municipal Panchayat elections.
Mr. Sapkal said that Congress has not received any proposal to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in alliance with the MNS. “A decision on whether Congress will contest the elections in alliance or independently will be taken only after the official announcement of the civic body polls,” he said.
The Congress leader added that the party is currently focused on strengthening its organisation and engaging with the public on local issues. Decisions on forming alliances with other parties in the India bloc will be left to the local unit leadership.
Sources suggest that Congress is closely watching the Bihar election results before finalising its strategy for a possible alliance with MNS in Maharashtra. The party is cautious to ensure that any such alliance does not impact its North Indian vote base in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Several Congress leaders had earlier dismissed the possibility of an alliance with the MNS. Senior leaders believe that if opposition unity strengthens at the national level, Congress may explore new alliance options in Maharashtra.
