Political Shift in Ambernath: NCP Councillors Support Shiv Sena
NCP Councillors Back Shiv Sena in Ambernath
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has faced a significant setback as four councillors from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Ajit Pawar, have decided to support the Shiv Sena, which is under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, in the Ambernath Municipal Council. This development follows reports suggesting that the BJP had formed an alliance with the Congress to keep the Shiv Sena out of power in Ambernath, a claim that both parties later denied.
The Ambernath Municipal Council consists of 60 councillors, with the Shiv Sena holding 27 seats, followed by the BJP with 14. The Congress and NCP have 12 and 4 councillors, respectively. With the support of the four NCP councillors and one independent councillor, the Shiv Sena now commands a total of 32 councillors backing them.
NCP's Discontent with Congress Alliance
According to sources, local NCP leaders expressed discomfort with sharing power with the Congress and informed the party leadership that they had been opposing Congress in Ambernath since 2023. They conveyed that an alliance with Congress was 'unacceptable,' leading to the decision to support the Shiv Sena instead.
It is noteworthy that while the Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP are part of the Mahayuti alliance, they contested the Ambernath Municipal elections separately.
Political Reactions and Consequences
The BJP-Congress alliance in Ambernath surprised many in Maharashtra, prompting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to issue a clarification. He later stated that any alliance with Congress is unacceptable and that the local decisions made in Ambernath would be rectified.
In a related development, 12 Congress councillors have joined the BJP, further complicating the political landscape. The BJP has now decided to seek the disqualification of these councillors: Pradeep Nana Patil, Darshana Patil, Archana Charan Patil, Harshada Pankaj Patil, Tejaswini Milind Patil, Vipul Pradeep Patil, Manish Mhatre, Dhanalakshmi Jayashankar, Sanjeevani Rahul Devde, Dinesh Gaikwad, Kiran Badrinath Rathod, and Kabir Naresh Gaikwad.