US EditionPolitical Alliances Stir Controversy in Maharashtra Municipal Councils
- On January 7, 2026, the Bharatiya Janata Party teamed up with the Indian National Congress and Ajit Pawar's NCP in the Ambarnath Municipal Council, electing Tejashree Karanjule Patil council president and securing a 32-member majority with one independent.
- After last month's vote, supporters said the alliance freed Ambarnath from corruption and intimidation, uniting all parties and independents as Ambarnath Vikas Aghadi against Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
- Seeking legal clarity, the Congress issued notices and registered the alliance with the Akola district administration ahead of January 13 elections, with six Congress seats and two Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi seats.
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on January 7, 2026 he has given orders to take action against those who allied with Congress and AIMIM, while Shiv Sena local leader Balaji Kinekar called the tie-up 'indecent and rude' and said it must be broken.
- Across nearby councils, the BJP formed the Akot Vikas Manch with AIMIM and gained support from Shiv Sena and NCP factions; Anup Dhotre claimed four AIMIM councillors defected, which Imtiaz Jaleel denied.
34 Articles
34 Articles
These days, Maharashtra's politics is dominated by convenience, not ideology. Ahead of the municipal elections, diametrically opposed parties have been seen embracing each other for power. The uneasy alliances formed in Ambernath and Akot have exposed the politics of convenience, where principles seem dwarfed by power.
In Maharashtra, a rare BJP-Congress alliance, then all hell broke loose
Fadnavis expressed strong displeasure over local BJP units forging post-poll alliances with rival parties and directed that such tie-ups be immediately ended.The Congress suspended its local leadership in Ambernath in a damage control effort.
Maharashtra civic polls: AIMIM, Congress councillors support BJP-led fronts
Politics continues to throw up unlikely alliances. After councillors from the rival Congress supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to wrest control of the Ambernath Municipal Council from the Shiv Sena, the saffron party has now stitched together an equally surprising alliance with councillors from the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in Akot to secure control of the municipal council there. The Congress, …
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