The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) polls, which are due, is going to be a litmus test for both the BJP and the newly-formed Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
Congress, who is a part of the ruling MVA government in the state, is planning to go solo in the BMC elections 2022. However, it is seen as a weak player in the satellite town. Hence, the Congress is in favour of a pre-poll pact with its allies Shiv Sena and NCP, who have been the dominant forces in the region over the past decade.
On Tuesday, December 22, during an internal party meeting, most Congress leaders from Navi Mumbai backed an alliance.
The Fisheries Minister and Navi Mumbai Congress’ sampark mantri, Aslam Shaikh, too, spoke in favour of the alliance and said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi has done a lot of work in the past one year. It should be taken to the people. As the government in power and the party, we will give you the required support, he said in the meeting.
The 111-seat Navi Mumbai civic polls were scheduled to be held in April 2020. But the state government had requested that the elections be postponed in view of coronavirus infection. Later, the election commission also stayed the poll-related process as the lockdown was imposed. While the Election Commission is yet to declare new poll dates, parties have begun preparing in full swing for the elections.
Meanwhile, the Congress corporators in Mumbai want the party to go alone for BMC polls 2022, a leader said that the decision on whether to join hands with Sena and NCP may depend on how the alliance fares in Navi Mumbai.
For those unaware, in the 2015 civic polls, the Congress had won just 10 of the 111 seats, while NCP had bagged 52 and Shiv Sena 38. However, the NCP corporators switched over to BJP ahead of the Assembly polls in 2019, along with the former minister and the region’s heavyweight Ganesh Naik. The BJP now has 54 seats, while the Congress’ tally has since increased to 13. The Shiv Sena has 42 seats.
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