Congress–Uddhav Alliance: A Tough Challenge for the BJP?

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) and the Congress on Monday officially announced an alliance to jointly contest the upcoming municipal corporation elections, beginning with Pune. The announcement was made by senior leaders Satej Patil and Sachin Ahir.

As per the initial seat-sharing arrangement, the Congress will contest 60 out of the 160 seats in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will field candidates in 45 seats. Leaders from both parties stated that discussions are still underway regarding the remaining 55 seats, and greater clarity on the final seat-sharing formula is expected in the coming days.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced an alliance between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the NCP (Sharad Chandra Pawar faction) for the upcoming Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections. Describing the move as a “reunion of the family,” Ajit Pawar said the decision to contest the elections together reflects unity and collective resolve.

Addressing an election rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Monday, Ajit Pawar said that while finalizing the list of candidates, both factions of the NCP decided to contest the municipal elections jointly. “This is why the family is coming together once again. There were many questions in people’s minds about what would happen next. Sometimes, decisions have to be taken in the larger interest of Maharashtra’s development,” he said.

He added that discussions on seat-sharing have already been held with local leaders and that a formal announcement regarding the distribution of seats will be made soon.