Fissures in MVA confirmed after Pawar also hints at contesting Mumbai's BMC polls alone after Uddhav Sena

The Congress, which leads the Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA opposition bloc, has, however, not yet commented on the decisions of its two regional allies in Maharashtra.

Mumbai: The fissures in the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi camp was confirmed on Tuesday when NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar hinted at contesting upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls alone days after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) took a similar decision to contest the local body elections in Maharashtra on its own strength.

The Congress, which leads the Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA opposition bloc, has, however, not yet commented on the decisions of the two regional allies in Maharashtra.

The MVA - which had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls together, comprises Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and their smaller allies.

“When INDIA bloc was formed, the discussion about the national issues and (Lok Sabha) elections. There were no discussions about state (Vidhan Sabha) polls or local bodies polls,” Pawar told reporters in Mumbai.

However, Pawar, who is considered a master of alliance politics, said that in the next eight to ten days the MVA leadership will meet and take a final call on whether to go to polls alone or fight together. “We have communication within the alliance,” he said.

Pawar also snubbed the Congress by extending support to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in some places for the forthcoming Delhi state polls. “We will extend support to the AAP in some seats. However, we will be discussing our position with the Congress,” he said.

It may be noted that the AAP has mustered support from Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

Pawar’s statement comes days after Thackeray aide and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said it will contest the forthcoming local bodies' polls in Maharashtra independently. "It is the collective desire of all of us to progress further in the political landscape of this country. However, over the past few days, some of our alliance partners seem to have taken the stance that communication has broken down. No alliance can succeed if dialogue is severed…it has to be noted that the INDIA bloc consists of nearly 30 parties and to maintain dialogue with all of them, it is essential to appoint some responsible leaders,” Raut had said.