Mumbai: The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), partners in Maharashtra's ruling alliance, will contest forthcoming elections to local self-government bodies in the state independently.
"Our party's campaign for the November 19 municipal council elections would start after Diwali," state Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam said.
"It is the feeling of grassroots Congress workers that the party should contest the polls independently," Nirupam said. "The district Congress presidents conveyed their feelings to state president Prabha Rau and the same was conveyed to the party high command."
The Congress has authorised local units in places where polls are due to take a decision on poll alliance, Nirupam said. "Our only condition is that there should be no truck with the BJP and Shiv Sena," he said.
Asked if there would be a Congress-NCP alliance for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections scheduled early 2007, Nirupam said a decision on this would be taken later. "Right now, we are concentrating on the November 19 elections in 167 municipal councils," he said.
The Opposition Sena-BJP alliance is in power in the BMC. At a recent public meeting, Sena chief Bal Thackeray asked his party workers to retain the corporation "at any cost".
Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has announced that the Sena-BJP alliance will contest the BMC elections.
The announcement by Uddhav assumes significance as it comes in the wake of a bitter row between the Sena and BJP over the Chimur Assembly seat, where a by-election is to be held soon.
Both the parties claimed the seat. It went to BJP in a compromise worked out between BJP leader Gopinath Munde and the senior Thackeray.
"There is no question of Congress conceding seats to NCP for the BMC elections," an MPCC office bearer said.
"Compared to NCP, Congress is in a better position in Mumbai. NCP's unreasonable demands would not be entertained at the cost of Congress ticket aspirants," he said.
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