A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri directed the collector to hold hearings for all concerned parties - the BJP, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena - and pass a fresh order after considering their submissions
In the Ambernath Municipal Council elections held on December 20. Representative Pic/File
Days after the Maharashtra local body elections, the Bombay High Court on Monday described the shifting loyalties of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) members in the Ambernath Municipal Council as “globe-trotting” and kept the Thane district collector’s orders recognising and derecognising alliances in abeyance, reported the PTI.
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri directed the collector to hold hearings for all concerned parties — the BJP, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena — and pass a fresh order after considering their submissions, according to the PTI.
The case concerns four NCP members who initially joined the BJP-Congress “Ambernath Vikas Aghadi” (AVA) alliance and later shifted their support to the Shiv Sena. The court remarked that such frequent changes in allegiance were akin to “globe-trotting”.
Alliance changes after polls
In the Ambernath Municipal Council elections held on December 20, the Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats out of 60. The BJP won 14 seats, Congress 12, and NCP four, while independents won two seats.
Despite being rivals, the BJP and Congress formed the AVA alliance after the elections, leaving the Shiv Sena out. The BJP later won the council chairperson post through direct election.
Collector recognises and derecognises alliances
The Thane collector initially recognised the AVA as a pre-poll alliance on January 7. However, following controversy and the Congress suspending all 12 of its elected members (who then joined the BJP), the four NCP members began supporting the Shiv Sena.
On January 9, the collector recognised the new tie-up with Shiv Sena as a pre-poll alliance and derecognised the AVA. The AVA then approached the Bombay High Court challenging the decision, as per the PTI.
Court directs fresh hearing
The court has asked all parties to submit written arguments to the collector by January 28. The collector must then issue a fresh order within 21 days, the PTI reported.
The court also stated that the collector’s order will not take effect for two weeks after it is issued, allowing time for parties to approach the court if needed, according to the news agency.
Until the fresh order is passed, the collector’s January 7 and 9 communications will remain suspended.
(with PTI inputs)
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