Congress to ‘accommodate’ MNS in Uddhav Sena quota for Pune civic polls

Patil said the announcement of the alliance got delayed due to the NCP (SP) frequently changing its stand. “As NCP(SP) finally joined hands with the NCP, things became clear for us,” he said.

Both Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) were against the NCP(SP)’s stand of joining hands with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in view of its alliance with BJP, both in the state and at the Centre.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir said his party has got 40 seats in the seat-sharing arrangement so far and the official letters from the party will be issued to the prospective candidates for filing their nomination. “It has been decided that the Congress will talk to its other alliance partners, such as the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and other parties, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) will hold discussion with MNS and other parties to decide on the remaining seats,” he said.

The MNS had sought 32 seats in the Pune civic body, said Ahir, adding that the discussion on the seat-sharing with MNS is going on and will be finalised soon.

“Moreover, there are many from the BJP and its allies as well as the NCP and the NCP(SP) who are reaching out to us, considering they are not going to get a ticket from their respective party. We will wait for all those who reach out to us and give the party ticket to them based on their ability to win,” he said.

Ahir said it has been the strategy of BJP to ensure there is no opposition left in the civic body as it asked its ally—Ajit Pawar-led NCP—to contest independently so that the BJP and the NCP can occupy both the ruling and Opposition seats. “The Ajit Pawar-led NCP will be the ruling party after the civic polls. If they are serious, then Ajit Pawar should declare in public that his party would not join hands with BJP after the elections,” he added.

Commenting on the MNS joining the MVA, Patil said that if ruling Mahayuti partners can ally with parties outside their coalition as per their convenience, there should be no objection to the opposition doing the same. “These elections are to resolve the civic issues of Pune. The BJP and its alliance partner have failed to resolve the issues in their rule, so we have come together to handle the problems of citizens,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi becoming a part of MVA, Patil said, ”They are demanding 40 seats, which will be difficult to accommodate. However, we are trying to reach an understanding. We are hopeful that they will be a part of MVA like in Mumbai.” In Mumbai, the Congress and VBA have formed an alliance.

The MNS is likely to get between 20-25 seats. ”MNS will get seats from our quota. The final figure has not been decided,” ” said Sanjay More, Sena (UBT) president of Pune city.

Asked whether MNS leaders will jointly the election campaign of the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates, an MVA leader said, ”The Sena and MNS will campaign for their candidates together. The Congress will not be a part of it.”

In 2017, Congress had nine corporators and one was co-opted. The undivided Shiv Sena had nine corporators. Most of them joined the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde after the split in 2022. The MNS had drawn a blank then.

In Pimpri-Chinchwad, the Congress is holding a dialogue with Shiv Sena (UBT) and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. ”No, we have not initiated any dialogue with MNS,” said Congress leader Babu Nair. The Congress had drawn blank in the last three elections in Pimpri-Chinchwad.