Congress is likely to contest over 150 of the 227 BMC seats, VBA on 62, with a few seats set aside for the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and RPI (Gavai). The alliance decision was jointly announced by Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal and VBA state vice-president Dhairyavardhan Pundkar
Congress Spokesperson Sachin Sawant, state party chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, and VBA state vice-president Dhairyavardhan Pundkar. PIC/X
The Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by BR Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash, on Sunday announced an alliance for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Elections.
Congress is likely to contest over 150 of the 227 BMC seats, VBA on 62, with a few seats set aside for the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and RPI (Gavai), sources told news agency PTI. The alliance decision was jointly announced by Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal and VBA state vice-president Dhairyavardhan Pundkar.
Addressing the media, Sapkal said that decisions regarding alliances for the remaining 28 municipal corporations in the state would be taken at the local level, with both the parties authorising their local leaderships to take appropriate calls. He described the Congress-VBA tie-up as a “natural alliance” grounded in shared ideology rather than mere electoral arithmetic.
“This is not a game of numbers, but a coming together of ideas. Both parties believe in the Constitution and in building India envisioned by it, based on equality, fraternity, and social justice,” Sapkal said.
Recalling past collaborations, he said the two parties had previously allied during the 1998 and 1999 elections, PTI reported.
“After a gap of 25 years, a new chapter has begun. It took time for the process, but from today, a new phase in state politics has started,” said Sapkal.
BMC Elections 2026: 'Alliance aimed at countering BJP’s divisive politics'
VBA leader Dhairyavardhan Pundkar said the alliance was formed to stop “the divisive politics of the BJP”. He credited Sapkal with taking the initiative and maintaining a positive approach from the outset, PTI reported.
“In the Mumbai civic elections, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi will contest 62 seats,” he reiterated.
VBA state vice-president and chief spokesperson Siddharth Mokale acknowledged that seat-sharing talks were never entirely satisfactory but required consensus from both sides.
Elections to 29 municipal corporations are scheduled for January 15, 2026, while the formal schedule for zilla parishad polls is awaited.
Notably, the Congress had earlier announced its intention to contest the BMC Elections 2026 independently. In the 2017 Mumbai civic body polls, the Congress had won just 31 seats, significantly trailing the then undivided Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
(With PTI inputs)
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