By Admin 
Maharashtra unit of Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Thursday (December 25) said his party is in discussions to form an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the upcoming municipal elections. Sapkal said after the Congress State Election Committee meeting at Tilak Bhawan in Dadar that both the parties have authorized their local leadership to take a decision on the alliance.
There is good communication between the leaders – Sapkal
“There is a strong desire among leaders of both parties for a Congress-led alliance,” Sapkal said. There is good communication between the leaders and serious efforts are being made to make an alliance possible for the municipal elections.
At the meeting held at Tilak Bhawan, the selection of candidates for 28 municipal corporations except Mumbai, which will be based on the recommendations of the District Congress Committees, and election management strategies keeping in mind social representation were also discussed.
These leaders were present in the meeting
Opposition leader Vijay Wadettiwar, former chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Sushil Kumar Shinde, former ministers and party officials were present in the meeting. Sapkal said that the schedule for the municipal elections was announced on December 15, after which the party immediately started planning for the elections.
Talks also going on with Uddhav Thackeray’s party – Sapkal
Sapkal said talks are also going on with Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which is a constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and ‘India’ alliance. Sapkal said that he is not directly involved in the coalition talks for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). He said that Congress Secretary U B Venkatesh has been entrusted with the responsibility of holding discussions with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. Elections for 29 municipal corporations including Mumbai will be held on January 15 and counting of votes will take place the next day.