Mumbai: A surprising post-poll alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in the Ambernath Municipal Council of Thane district has not only altered the local political landscape but also ignited sharp reactions across Maharashtra’s party circles. The unexpected partnership, aimed at keeping the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) out of power, has led to disciplinary action against Congress leaders and deepened fissures within the state’s political alliances.
In a dramatic turn of events, local BJP leaders joined hands with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) to form the “Ambernath Vikas Aghadi” coalition. The group now commands a majority in the council with 32 members — including 14 BJP councillors, 12 from Congress, four from the NCP (Pawar faction), and one independent — and has secured the post of council president for BJP’s Tejashree Karanjule.
The move proved consequential because the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) had won the largest number of seats in the municipal polls but was left out of the ruling formation due to post-poll maneuvering.
However, the alliance quickly drew the ire of the Maharashtra Congress leadership. The state party president reprimanded local leaders for contravening organisational discipline. In a letter to Pradeep Patil, Ambernath’s bloc Congress chief, the party announced his suspension along with the removal of all corporators who backed the BJP-led alliance. The local Congress executive committee has also been dissolved.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, speaking as a senior BJP leader, labelled the unexpected coalition “unacceptable” and indicated that the alliance should be annulled if it was made without proper party approval. He reiterated that party discipline must be upheld at all levels.
Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leaders, meanwhile, criticised the BJP’s new political calculus as ideological inconsistency. MLA Balaji Kinikar described the alliance as “hypocritical,” pointing out the BJP’s longstanding national slogan of a “Congress-Free India.” He warned that such moves could weaken the broader Mahayuti front and impact future urban and civic polls.
Local BJP leadership defended the alliance as a practical step for governance and development. Gulabrao Karanjule Patil stated that talks with the Shinde faction had stalled, leaving the BJP with no choice but to forge a coalition with other parties to ensure stability and curb corruption in Ambernath.
The controversy has intensified ongoing tensions within the Mahayuti alliance and raised questions about the future of ideological coherency in state politics. As parties navigate these rapidly shifting equations, analysts suggest that post-poll strategies may increasingly outweigh traditional pre-poll alliance commitments — a trend that could reshape political contests in Maharashtra in the run-up to upcoming civic and municipal elections.
For now, the BJP-Congress pact in Ambernath underscores how pragmatism and power logistics are taking priority over long-held party narratives, even as the political fallout continues to unfold.
