Addressing BJP claims that Congress corporators were in talks with them, Wadettiwar dismissed the allegations as baseless “kite-flying in the air” and said they lacked credibility. He emphasised that there was no scope for poaching corporators in Chandrapur
Congress senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar. File Pic
The Congress, which became the single largest party in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur Municipal Corporation (CMC) last week, will appoint its mayor and head the new civic administration, senior leader Vijay Wadettiwar said on Tuesday.
According to the news agency PTI, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader asserted that his party has the necessary numbers to lead the civic body in the Vidarbha city.
Addressing BJP claims that Congress corporators were in talks with them, Wadettiwar dismissed the allegations as baseless “kite-flying in the air” and said they lacked credibility.
“Our first priority is to form a Congress-led civic administration in Chandrapur and install a party Mayor. We have the numbers needed for it,” he told reporters in Mumbai, reported PTI.
Wadettiwar emphasised that there was no scope for poaching corporators in Chandrapur and asserted that a Congress Mayor in the city was certain, regardless of BJP's claims.
The CLP leader said the party wants a loyal and experienced corporator to be made the next Mayor. He also hinted that some BJP corporators were in touch with the Congress.
“The people of Chandrapur have given a clear mandate to the Congress in last week’s civic polls, and the party will work earnestly to live up to their expectations,” the former state minister affirmed.
Six corporators of the Shiv Sena (UBT), a Congress ally at the state level, were elected in Chandrapur, where no party secured a clear majority in the civic polls.
Wadettiwar said discussions are underway to include them in an alliance, as the two parties are constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state, PTI reported.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has the right to stake a claim to the mayor's post in Chandrapur, he added.
In the 66-member Chandrapur civic body, the Congress won 27 seats, followed by BJP (23), Shiv Sena-UBT (6), BSP and Shiv Sena (1 each), and others (8).
Chandrapur was among 29 major cities and towns in Maharashtra where municipal corporation polls were held on January 15, with votes counted the next day.
AIMIM will never align with BJP, says Asaduddin Owaisi
AIMIM (All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday dismissed any possibility of an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after his party’s strong showing in the Maharashtra municipal elections, remarking that “the two shores of the sea can never meet”, news agency ANI reported.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Owaisi referred to a recent incident in Akot, where AIMIM corporators had attempted to align with the BJP. He said five AIMIM corporators were elected in Akot and had earlier been cautioned by the party leadership.
Owaisi said the corporators initially claimed they were unaware that the group they had joined was linked to the BJP. He added that the party subsequently directed them to immediately submit a letter to the municipal commissioner and withdraw their support.
"Look, this cannot happen. The two shores of the sea can never become one. Five corporators from Akot had won, and we had warned them. Earlier, they told us that while forming the group, they did not know that it was the BJP. So we told them to immediately write a letter to their Municipal Commissioner and withdraw from that group," Owaisi told ANI.
He further stated that it later emerged that a BJP leader's son had been accommodated through co-option, following which Imtiaz Jaleel suspended the corporators from the party. Owaisi made it clear that AIMIM would take strict action against any member aligning with rival political formations.
(With Agency inputs)
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