‘Horse-trading’, Sena (UBT) ‘betrayal’: How Cong lost Chandrapur mayoral post to BJP | India News
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday warned of potential damage to its alliance with Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena (UBT), the Uddhav Thackeray-led party and others in alliance with the BJP, leading to the election of the saffron party’s candidate for the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation mayoral post.The development was a big blow to the Congress, which was poised to win the mayoralty but lost by just one vote.BJP corporator Sangeeta Khandekar was elected mayor, while Prashant Danav of Shiv Sena (UBT) became deputy mayor.Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal alleged “horse-trading” and blamed the Shiv Sena (UBT), Asaduddin Wais’s AIMIM and Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).“In Chandrapur mayoral election, BJP got 32 votes and Congress 31 votes. Sena (UBT) is an ally of Maha Vikas Aghadi and Bharat Bloc. With its six corporators, Sena (UBT) was expected to support Congress. But the party chose to go with BJP. This development will have consequences,” the Mumbai report said.“The BJP has also topped AIMIM’s support. The VBA, with whom we formed a true alliance in the civic body elections, had supported the Congress, our candidate would have won. There was horse-trading,” Sapkal added.Addressing the factional conflict within the Chandrapur Congress, he said the Congress corporators were “united” and that he had personally settled differences among party leaders in the city.“It is only because of Shiv Sena (UBT), AIMIM and VBA that the BJP has been able to install its mayor,” asserted the Maharashtra Congress chief.Till Monday, the alliance of the 66-member Chandrapur Municipal Corporation was unclear after the fragile verdict in the January 15 polls.The Congress emerged as the largest party with 27 seats, while the BJP came second with 23 seats, setting off a race between the two rivals to form an alliance and secure the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), a former BJP ally, won six seats, while three went to the Indian Farmers Workers Party (Jan Vikash Sena), two VBA and one AIMIM, BSP and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinder’s Shiv Sena, a BJP ally. Two individual also secured victory. The results of the polls were announced on January 16.(with PTI input)
