North India Statesman
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News India Live, Digital Desk: On Tuesday, a reversal was seen in the politics of Maharashtra which has raised questions on the future of ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ (MVA). Uddhav Thackeray faction’s Shiv Sena (UBT) surprised everyone and supported BJP in Chandrapur Municipal Corporation mayor elections. Due to this unexpected alliance, BJP’s Sangeeta Khandekar was elected mayor by a margin of just 1 vote, while Congress, despite being the largest party, had to face a crushing defeat.
Factionalism ruined Congress’s fortunes.
In Chandrapur, Congress had 27 councilors and was closest to the majority mark, but the infighting within the party spoiled the whole game. Taking advantage of the tussle between the Vijay Wadettiwar and Pratibha Dhanorkar factions, the BJP brought the ‘kingmaker’ Shiv Sena (UBT) into its fold. In the 66-member House, the BJP candidate got 32 votes, while the Congress candidate Vaishali Mahadule had to be content with only 31 votes.
‘Secret’ agreement between BJP and Shiv Shiv Sena (UBT)
Development is being cited as the reason behind this alliance. Under the agreement, the post of Mayor will be on rotation basis. BJP will hold the mayor’s post for the first 15 months, after which Shiv Sena (UBT) will become the mayor. Immediately after the elections, Prashant Danav of the Uddhav faction has been elected Deputy Mayor. Shiv Sena (UBT) district president Sandeep Girhe said that he had sought the mayor’s post from Congress, but despite repeated contacts, Congress did not give any positive response, after which he had to go with BJP for the ‘development of the city’.
Congress gets angry: ‘stabbed in the back’
Shocked by this defeat, Congress has termed it as murder of democracy. Maharashtra Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal accused Shiv Sena (UBT) of breaking the coalition dharma and said that it is a betrayal of the INDIA alliance. Congress has also blamed AIMIM and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for BJP’s victory.
