Senior Congress leader Shivajirao Moghe on Saturday said that if the 12 Congress councilors of Ambernath Municipal Council had come to a mutual understanding with the BJP instead of forming a separate faction, their suspension could have been avoided. He said the councilors should have first taken permission from the state Congress president and then formed a “tacit consensus” to run the functioning of the local body smoothly in the larger public interest.
After the local body elections held on December 20, the local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed an alliance with its arch-rival Congress under the banner of ‘Ambernath Vikas Aghadi’ (AVA) to regain power. Due to this alliance, BJP sidelined its ally Shiv Sena, which had emerged as the largest party in the elections. This alliance also included the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, another ally of the BJP in the state government.
Congress, which was uncomfortable with this unexpected alliance, on Wednesday suspended 12 of its councilors and one division president. On Friday, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP formed an alliance with an independent member and staked claim to rule the Ambernath local body, keeping the BJP away from power.
Former minister Moghe said that alliances with ideological opponents at the local level are nothing new and these alliances are made to ensure that the elected bodies work in the interest of the public. He recalled the alliance made by Congress with BJP in Yavatmal after the 2017 Zilla Parishad elections. He said, “The situation was such that the election of the Zilla Parishad President was not possible without the support of the Congress.”
Moghe stressed that Gram Panchayat or Zilla Parishad elections are related to grassroots level workers and their views and opinions cannot be ignored. He said that Congress had also received a proposal from undivided Shiv Sena, but it was not ready to give any share in power to Congress.
On the other hand, BJP had agreed to give the post of District Council President to Congress for two and a half years. BJP retained its first term.
Moghe said, “Our support to the BJP was only for decisions related to the welfare of the public and Yavatmal district. There was nothing in writing in it. After the formation of Maha Vikas Aghadi at the state level in 2019, our alliance broke and Congress decided to support undivided Shiv Sena for the post of Zilla Parishad President for the remaining two and a half years.
Referring to the political developments in Ambernath Municipal Council, Moghe said that it was wrong for 12 councilors to form a separate faction with the BJP without the permission of the state leadership.
