KC Venugopal (right) and Uddhav Thackeray. (File photo/Twitter)
According to sources, apart from opposition unity on the national front, the two discussed the possibility of an alliance for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other local body elections in the closed-door meeting.
Although Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar has cleared the air that he has no plans to switch, the political situation in Maharashtra remains uncertain and has created a stir within the Maha Vikas Aghadi. But the recent meeting between Congress’s KC Venugopal and Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray was significant.
According to sources, apart from opposition unity on the national front, the two discussed the possibility of an alliance for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other local body elections in the closed-door meeting. However, no final decision has been taken in this regard.
After assuming the post of Mumbai Congress President, Bhai Jagtap had taken a stand that his party should contest the BMC elections on its own. In this connection, he also met top Congress leaders in Delhi. But after Venugopal and Thackeray’s meeting, there is a feeling that all MVA stakeholders may fight the upcoming elections in alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
According to sources close to ‘Matoshree’ (Thackeray’s residence), Uddhav and Venugopal also discuss that it would help all stakeholders if the local body elections are fought together under the MVA banner. The final decision will be taken by the Congress high command and Uddhav Thackeray.
It has been more than a year since the BMC elections. For the past one year, the BMC commissioner has been working as the administrator of the civic body. In the last BMC election, the Shiv Sena had won 84 wards and had the outside support of the BJP which won 82 seats. Congress won 32 seats and NCP won 9 seats.
The BMC is the richest municipal body in the country, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena has been in power here for over two decades. But after the split in the party and the original name and symbol going to Eknath Shinde, Uddhav’s party is also looking for a strong partner to contest the elections. In such a situation, the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is contesting the elections as a faction, can get benefited.
A Mumbai Congress source said, “KC Venugopal has invited Uddhav Thackeray to Delhi and it is likely that the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi He can also come to Mumbai to meet him. There is a possibility that the proposal for an alliance for the local body polls may come up for discussion in these meetings.”
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