Former minister and BJP's Latur civic poll in-charge, MLA Sambhajirao Patil Nilangekar, declared his party will contest all 70 seats in the LMC
Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. File Pic/PTI
The much-anticipated alliance between the BJP and NCP for the January 15 elections to the Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC) in Maharashtra appears to have broken down with the former announcing it will contest all 70 seats independently, reported news agency PTI.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday, the last day of filing nominations, former minister and BJP's Latur civic poll in-charge, MLA Sambhajirao Patil Nilangekar, declared his party will contest all 70 seats in the LMC.
He said the BJP had made sincere efforts to forge an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Despite the willingness shown by senior NCP leaders in the district, he claimed the alliance was derailed due to interference by second and third-rung functionaries who threw a spanner in the works, reported PTI.
He noted that NCP leaders, including Minister Babasaheb Patil, former minister Sanjay Bansode and MLC Vikram Kale, were keen on contesting the polls as part of the alliance, reported PTI.
However, office bearers accompanying the NCP leadership allegedly sabotaged the understanding. Refusing to name those responsible for the break-up, Nilangekar advised the NCP's district leadership to remain cautious of such forces, reported PTI.
Nilangekar asserted that the BJP would contest the Latur civic elections with full strength.
Mahayuti allies go separate ways ahead of Jalna Municipal Corporation polls
Meanwhile, after weeks of intense negotiations over seat-sharing, the Mahayuti alliance appears to have broken down ahead of Jalna Municipal Corporation (JMC) elections in Maharashtra with partners deciding to contest the January 15 polls independently, reported PTI.
The collapse became evident on Tuesday, the final day for filing nomination forms, with alliance partners -- the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) -- deciding to contest the polls independently.
The NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, a key Mahayuti partner, on Monday night announced its decision to go solo, alleging its strength was being consistently neglected by its BJP and Shiv Sena, reported PTI.
Speaking to media persons, NCP Jalna district president and former MLA Arvind Chavan said BJP and Shiv Sena leaders were holding seat-sharing meetings without inviting representatives from his party, reported PTI.
"We were not given due respect. Our party was ignored despite its organisational strength. Hence, we have decided to contest the elections independently and demonstrate our strength," Chavan said, reported PTI.
On the last day of nominations, both BJP and Shiv Sena fielded candidates in all 65 seats in the JMC.
January 2 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
BJP leader and former MLA Kailash Gorantyal said although a seat-sharing formula had initially been discussed, disagreements arose when the Shiv Sena insisted on contesting certain seats claimed by his party.
"As no consensus could be reached, we have decided to contest the elections independently," Gorantyal said, reported PTI.
In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), has already finalised its seat-sharing arrangement.
According to sources, the Congress has been allotted AB forms (given to official party candidates) for 42 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) for 12 seats, and NCP (SP) for 11.
With the Mahayuti split and multiple parties entering the fray independently, the JMC elections are expected to witness a keenly contested multi-cornered fight.
Jalna is one of the 29 municipal corporations going to polls on January 15.
(With inputs from PTI)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
