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By:

Dr. Abhilash Dawre

19 March 2025 at 5:18:41 pm

From suspension to defection

Eighteen days after the results, Ambernath politics takes a dramatic turn as Congress corporators flood into BJP Ambernath : Amid growing buzz around municipal elections in Maharashtra, the Congress party has suffered a major political blow in Ambernath. As many as 11 Congress corporators have quit the party and formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within 24 hours of being suspended, dramatically altering the power balance in the Ambernath Municipal Council. The development has...

From suspension to defection

Eighteen days after the results, Ambernath politics takes a dramatic turn as Congress corporators flood into BJP Ambernath : Amid growing buzz around municipal elections in Maharashtra, the Congress party has suffered a major political blow in Ambernath. As many as 11 Congress corporators have quit the party and formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within 24 hours of being suspended, dramatically altering the power balance in the Ambernath Municipal Council. The development has not only weakened Congress but has also dealt a significant setback to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction.   The crisis began after Congress suspended 12 corporators for aligning with the BJP during the formation of power in the municipal council. However, since the corporators were suspended and not disqualified, their corporator status remained intact, legally freeing them to join another party. Taking advantage of this, 11 suspended corporators crossed over to the BJP, leaving Congress in a political bind described by party insiders as a case of “losing both oil and ghee.”   The situation within the Congress organisation in Ambernath has further deteriorated. Party sources say there is no one left to even occupy the Congress office, and discussions are underway about sending a lock from Mumbai to secure it. Ironically, the party office itself is reportedly under the control of former Taluka Congress President Pradeep Patil, who was earlier suspended for campaigning for Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) candidate Shrikant Shinde during the Lok Sabha elections. Patil was suspended at the time by then state Congress president Nana Patole.   Power Struggle In the Ambernath Municipal Council, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena has 27 corporators, BJP has 14, Congress 12, and the Nationalist Congress Party 4. Despite being the single largest party, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) fell short of a majority. BJP capitalised on this situation by aligning with Congress corporators and the NCP to reach the majority mark, a move that triggered widespread discussion across the state and country due to the unusual BJP–Congress alignment. Congress’s disciplinary action against its corporators ultimately worked in BJP’s favour and against the Shinde Sena. Following the defection of the 11 corporators, BJP’s strength in the municipal council has increased significantly, while the Shinde Sena has been pushed further away from power despite having the highest number of elected members.   This political churn is being viewed as a warning signal for Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leadership. Ambernath is represented by MLA Dr. Balaji Kinikar, while Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is the local Member of Parliament. With party control firmly in their hands, the BJP’s successful induction of Congress corporators facilitated by state BJP president Ravindra Chavan is being seen as a strategic challenge to the Shinde camp.   Intensifying Rivalry BJP’s aggressive organisational expansion in Badlapur, Ambernath, and Kalyan-Dombivli has intensified tensions between BJP and the Shinde Sena. The rivalry between MP Shrikant Shinde and BJP state president Ravindra Chavan has now become increasingly open, peaking in December with both sides engaging in aggressive political poaching of former corporators and office-bearers.   List of Congress corporators who joined BJP 1. Pradeep Nana Patil 2. Darshana Umesh Patil 3. Archana Charan Patil 4. Harshada Pankaj Patil 5. Tejaswini Milind Patil 6. Vipul Pradeep Patil 7. Manish Mhatre 8. Dhanlakshmi Jayashankar 9. Sanjavani Rahul Devde 10. Dinesh Gaikwad 11. Kiran Badrinath Rathod

Civic polls ‘circus’

Ticket-seekers unleash chaos, confusion and mayhem

Mumbai: The last day of filing nominations for Maharashtra’s first civic body elections since 2017 erupted into chaos, rebellion and high political drama across major urban centres, exposing deep fissures within almost every major political party.


From Mumbai to Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, Nashik, Amravati and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, thousands of hopefuls denied tickets turned their rage inward - targeting party leaderships - in scenes rarely witnessed even during Assembly or Lok Sabha elections.


Massive uproar, slogan-shouting, heated confrontations or near-fisticuffs with local office-bearers, open threats of sabotage and dramatic last-minute defections marked the day when nomination filings closed across the state.


In several cities, frustrated workers laid siege to party offices and leaders’ residences, while others accused their own parties of nepotism, favouritism and even ticket “auctioning” for a staggering Rs 2-crore.


Shaken by the ugly mood of the grassroots cadres, local leaders in some civic bodies were forced to distribute AB forms secretly, with candidates reportedly summoned in the dead of night to avoid backlash.


The unrest cut across party and ideological lines but seemed more vicious within the MahaYuti constituents - the BJP and the Shiv Sena - and also the Nationalist Congress Party, which is contesting outside the alliance in several civic bodies.


A senior Congress leader from Pune described the unprecedented turbulence as a sign of “extraordinary political stakes” attached to local body control, noting that such upheaval was absent even during state Assembly or Parliament elections.


With civic bodies commanding massive budgets, local patronage networks and organisational control ahead of future Assembly battles, the denial of tickets triggered raw anger among field workers feeling sidelined in favour of family members, defectors and controversial figures, while their parties bedded with strange allies.


Goons, dons, gangsters poised to be civic Big Daddies !

Pune: Raising eyebrows, the NCP has fielded Jayshree Marne, wife of jailed local don Gajanan Marne - who was part of the police’s ‘Black Parade’ along with many other criminals and goons in Feb. 2024. Boasting Marne’s clout, his pictures with ex-CM Eknath Shinde and Parth (Ajit) Pawar in early 2024 had created a huge political storm.


The NCP has also given tickets to 3 prime accused in the sensational murder of an ex-corporator Vanraj Andekar in Sep. 2024. They are: Bandu Andekar, Laxmi Andekar and Sonali Andekar, who were granted special court permission to file their nomination papers amid tight police security.


Mumbai: In Mumbai, accusations of dynastic politics flew thick and fast. The BJP faced embarrassment after Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar’s family members - his brother Makarand Narvekar, sister-in-law Harshita Narvekar and cousin Gauravi Shivalkar-Narvekar - secured tickets.


There were red faces even in the NCP when multiple members of the Nawab Malik family – his brother Kaptan Malik, Bushra Malik and Saeeda Khan-Malik – got tickets.


The Shiv Sena (UBT) witnessed a mini-rebellion in its traditional strongholds of Worli and Mahim. Angered aspirants laid siege to ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’ in Bandra. Several former corporators, Shakha Pramukhs and office-bearers have reportedly resigned, though there is no official confirmation.


A miffed Union Minister and RPI(A) President Ramdas Athawale also called up CM Devendra Fadnavis to express displeasure over getting a raw deal in the ticket distribution despite remaining loyal to the NDA for over a decade.


Parties cower over retaliation

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a dramatic development, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance collapsed at the last minute. A BJP worker attempted self-immolation by dousing himself with petrol but was stopped by police. Dejected activists stormed the BJP office, openly slamming local leaders. Women aspirants were seen crying, shouting and collapsing from exhaustion.


Denied a BJP ticket, ex-deputy mayor Lata Shinde crossed over to the Shiv Sena and was immediately rewarded with a nomination. After allegations were hurled that tickets were “auctioned” for up to Rs 2-cr, Minister Girish Mahajan promised an investigation.


Nagpur: The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance between Congress-NCP (SP) collapsed after barely 15 minutes of negotiations! NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh accused Congress of betrayal and later, his colleague Duneshwar S. Pethe claimed that the Congress back-stabbing will benefit the BJP, triggering sharp counter-allegations of “treachery” from Congress leaders.


Thane, Amravati, Nashik: Shiv Sena workers created ruckus in Amravati and Pune, while similar scenes unfolded in Thane, Nashik and several other cities. Unconfirmed reports suggest the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance has collapsed in at least 15-17 civic bodies, setting the stage for direct contests between allies-turned-rivals.

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