The Congress alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will depend on developments in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will depend on developments in Uttar Pradesh.
A senior Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) general secretary told DNA, “It all depends on how the alliances evolve between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for 2012. Accordingly, we will take decisions for the BMC election scheduled in February 2012.”
The Congress reckons that there are some pockets in Mumbai with a strong Muslim population who are loyal to the Samajwadi Party. Of the total 227 seats for the BMC election, the Congress has decided to allot 45 seats to alliance partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Samajwadi Party expects Congress to part with at least 15 -20 seats. The final decision has been left to All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionaries.
Top leadership of the Congress and NCP will meet on Wednesday for a formal meeting to discuss seat sharing details for corporation elections in Mumbai and Thane. A party insider revealed, “The first meeting held on Saturday was a fiasco since chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was out of Mumbai. Also, the CMO forget to convey the message of the meeting to other prominent leaders in the Congress and NCP. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar was unaware of the meeting.”
Incidentally, MPCC chief Manikrao Thakre and state NCP chief Madhukar Picchad were the only ones who were told about the meeting. They, along with local Mumbai leaders, held the first round of talks and expressed willingness for an open-ended alliance in the elections.
An NCP political manager informed DNA, “We are in talks with local SP leaders. If the Congress has any reservations about an alliance with Samajwadi Party, the NCP will tie up with them for consolidating the secular votes.”
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