Mumbai: Ajit Pawar faction's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is reportedly set to contest solo for upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections 2026, though a final decision is yet to be officially announced. The elections for 227 seats of BMC will be held on January 15, while the counting of votes will be held on January 16.
Final Decision On December 30
While speaking to IANS, NCP President Sunil Dattatray Tatkare said that clarity on how many seats the NCP plans to contest will be out by Tuesday evening, December 30, and the final list of candidates is also likely to be announced at 3 pm on the same day.
NCP To Contest 'Lot of Seats' Throughout Mumbai
Sharing more information about the party's plan, NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique told news agency ANI that NCP has planned to contest a significant number of seats across Mumbai and is fully prepared to fight the BMC elections independently.
"NCP will contest on a lot of seats throughout Mumbai, and we are very capable of contesting alone," he said. He further expressed confidence that party workers are ready on the ground and added that the next Mayor of Mumbai will be from NCP.
Will Ajit Pawar's NCP form an alliance in Mumbai?
On the other hand, NCP leader and MLA Sana Malik informed that the party leadership has not yet taken a final decision on whether the NCP will contest the BMC elections alone or as part of an alliance.
"We are having back-to-back meetings to prepare our workers in case we contest alone," she said. Malik added that a list of strong, sure-shot candidates has already been prepared and will be released once the leadership gives the go-ahead. "The final list will have 20-30 more names... We will contest on nearly 100 seats if we contest alone... The upcoming Mayor of Mumbai will not be appointed without the cooperation of the NCP," she said.
Meanwhile, the last polls for the 227 seats were held in February 2017. The BMC elections become crucial as the Mahayuti secured a landslide majority in the 288 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, winning 207 president posts in the local bodies, while MVA could come up with a collective tally of 44.
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