5 months ago
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The Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by B.R. Ambedkar's grandson, Prakash Ambedkar, announced an confederation for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections connected Sunday (December 28, 2025), with the VBA acceptable to contention 62 of the 227 seats.
Congress volition contention much than 150 seats, portion immoderate seats volition beryllium allocated to the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and RPI (Gavai), sources said.
The tie-up determination was announced by Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal and VBA State vice-president Dhairyavardhan Pundkar.
Mr. Sapkal said that decisions connected alliances for the remaining 28 municipal corporations successful the State would beryllium taken astatine the section level, and some parties had authorised their section leaderships to instrumentality due calls.
He said the Congress-VBA tie-up was a "natural alliance" based connected shared ideology alternatively than specified electoral arithmetic.
"This is not a crippled of numbers, but a coming unneurotic of ideas. Both parties judge successful the Constitution and successful gathering India envisioned by it, based connected equality, fraternity, and societal justice," helium said.
Recalling that the 2 parties had earlier travel unneurotic during the 1998 and 1999 elections, Sapkal said that aft a spread of 25 years, a caller section had begun.
"It took clip for the process, but from today, a caller signifier successful authorities authorities has started," helium added.
VBA person Pundkar said the confederation had been formed to halt "the divisive authorities of the BJP.
He said Sapkal had taken the inaugural for the confederation and maintained a affirmative attack from the beginning.
"In the Mumbai civic elections, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi volition contention 62 seats," helium reiterated.
VBA State vice-president and main spokesperson Siddharth Mokale said seat-sharing talks successful alliances were ne'er afloat satisfactory but required statement from some sides.
Elections to 29 municipal corporations are scheduled for January 15, 2026. The ceremonial docket of ZP polls is awaited.
Notably, the Congress had announced to contention the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections solo.
In the 2017 BMC elections, the Congress won lone 31 seats, acold down the past undivided Shiv Sena and the BJP.
