Cong left high and dry in Mira-Bhayander

MUMBAI: Taking the adage ‘politics makes strange bedfellows’ to a newer height, the BJP, the Shiv Sena, the NCP and independents have joined hands to keep the Congress out of power in the neighbouring Mira-Bhayander municipal corporation.

In the recently held polls, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party, with 33 seats in the 79-member corporation. It was followed by the NCP with 20 seats, the BJP (8), the Shiv Sena (5) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (4). All the main political parties had contested the elections separately, meaning the Congress had no tie-up with the NCP, and the BJP, too, was pitted against its partner, the Shiv Sena.

Besides these major players, local players like the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi bagged two seats, the Janata Dal, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Lok Bharati cornered one seat each while independents managed to bag four.

The Congress needed just about seven seats more to run the municipal body and it was assumed that its state and national-level partner, the NCP, would do the honours. However, the latter was upset with the Congress’ insistence for both mayor and deputy mayor posts. With the NCP hesitant on its support, the state Congress leadership was seen wooing other minor players.

But in a coup of sorts, all major players, excluding the MNS, came together against the Congress. The BJP and the Sena may not be seeing eye to eye at the state level, but the saffron siblings buried their differences to keep the Congress at bay in Mira-Bhayander. The NCP, too, kept aside its secular mantra and decided to side with the BJP and the Sena. Such was the desperation against the Congress that this hurriedly-cobbled combine has sacrificed both the important posts — that of mayor and the deputy mayor — by offering them to independents.

The NCP was out to settle score with the Congress as it was dethroned in the last election. In the outgoing civic body, the NCP had 30 corporators, followed by 18 of the Congress and 15 of the BJP. The Shiv Sena had four members.

Significantly enough, the election saw defeat of local political heavyweights like NCP’s Gilbert Mendocca and his wife Maira (a former mayor), leader of the Opposition Parshuram Patil (Congress), BJP’s Thane district chief Rohidas Patil, NCP general secretary Mohan Patil, MNS’ Thane district president Arun Kadam and Shiv Sena’s city unit chief Prabhakar Mhatre. Situated on the outskirts of Mumbai’s western suburbs, Mira-Bhayander is one of the fast-growing city clusters that has come to be associated with all that which ail urban areas.

It’s not, however, for the first time that non-Congress parties in the state have come together to block the Congress either from winning elections or forming the government. In fact, there’s an interesting pattern emerging here, be it local self-government bodies, legislative councils or, for that matter, Lok Sabha polls.

Take, for instance, Pune municipal corporation polls held this year, where the Sena, the BJP and the NCP joined forces to wrest power. The post-municipal poll tie-up between these same parties was formalised in Amravati, too.

In recently-held elections to the state legislative councils in Aurangabad, Jalna, Bhandara and Gondia, a camaraderie of sorts between the Sena and the NCP or the NCP and the BJP ensured the defeat of Congress candidates. Likewise, the NCP helped the Sena in Ramtek Lok Sabha by-poll to beat Congress nominee while the Sena returned the favour to the NCP in Erandol where the tie-up led to the BJP nominee’s defeat.