Ahead of upcoming civic body elections, the Congress party received a major jolt after 28 corporators including the mayor of the Malegaon Municipal Corporation on Thursday joined the NCP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state NCP chief Jayant Patil and Nashik district guardian minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
NCP Chief Spokesman and Minority Affair Minister Nawab Malik said 28 Congress corporators including the mayor of Malegaon, joined the party. The Congress, however, said 27 of the 28 party members in the Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC) have joined the NCP.
Both the NCP and the Congress are allies in the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in the state.
The NCP already has 20 corporators in the 84-member civic body. The Shiv Sena has 13 members in the MMC, the BJP 9, the AIMIM 7, the JD(S) 6 and one Independent.
Both Patil and Pawar said Malegaon will have an NCP MLA in the next assembly elections and the party will work for development of the city. Pawar assured additional funds for Malegaon before the closure of fiscal 2021-22 saying that the government will also consider implementation of a slew of development schemes through Maulana Azad Minorites Financial Development Corporations.
Malik promised to resolve the issue of the cemetery in Malegaon soon. He also assured the establishment of a new Polytechnic College at Malegaon soon through the Skill Development Department.
Congress fumes
The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole said, "Even though the Congress and the NCP are allies in the MVA, this is politics. Some NCP corporators are joining us. I will not reveal much details now." He said if the NCP was engineering defections in the Congress ranks, "we, too, will decide what to do in the future." "Those who quit on their own are not required to tell their grievances to the party leadership," Patole said.
‘’We are not saying that what they (NCP) have done is wrong, but they should also think that what we have done is not wrong,” said Patole.
Earlier, 18 Congress corporators from Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation had migrated to NCP which was strongly opposed by the Congress party. “Wake up or the situation would get out of hand. The party cannot be content with just being a partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi and getting ministerial berths,” the state Congress general secretary Vinayakrao Deshmukh had said in an open letter to party workers in the state.
Deshmukh had suggested that the Congress party leadership should demand answers from the allies in the coordination committee otherwise the party would end up being the ‘’biggest loser’’ in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
