BMC Elections: Abu Azmi's Samajwadi Party To Contest Independently In Mumbai, Claims ‘Past Alliances Only Brought Him Betrayal’

Mumbai: The Samajwadi Party (SP) State President Abu Azmi, on Wednesday, November 19, slammed the Congress and said that it will contest the upcoming local body elections in Mumbai on its own. He added that his party would field candidates in 150 out of 227 seats in the BMC elections.

Elections to the BMC, the richest civic body in the country, are likely to be held in January 2026.

While addressing a press conference, he made it clear that the party will contest upcoming elections without entering into any coalition as past alliances only brought him “betrayal.”

Slamming the Congress, Azmi alleged that in any alliances, the Congress positions itself as the dominant party. Adding further, he also claimed that in the past, Congress had broken alliance just before the final seat-sharing decisions.

"We want all secular forces to fight together so that votes are not split. However, the bigger parties only know how to take and do not know how to give," he said.

Azmi Accuses Maharashtra Govt Of Not Allocating Funds Fairly

During the press conference, Azmi also accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of not allocating funds fairly. "If you join hands with Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar, their people get funds. Shivajinagar-Govandi (Azmi's assembly constituency in Mumbai) gets the least money," he claimed.

Azmi Slams Raj Thackeray's MNS

He also accused Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) of insulting North Indians and said any party that joins hands with MNS will face electoral losses. "The Samajwadi Party is a movement. We stand for the poor, the backward and the voiceless. We will continue our struggle alone," Azmi concluded.

The Changing Political Equation in Maharashtra

With the Thackeray cousins joining hands after two decades, there has been a possible rift within the MVA. With talks that MNS and UBT Sena will join hands for the upcoming polls, the Congress party recently announced that it will contest the local body elections on its own strength and will be fielding candidates on all 227 seats.

Report by PTI stated that a section of the Congress party is opposed to including Raj Thackeray in any alliance because of his strong stance against North Indian migrants.

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