- By Shibra Arshad
- Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:27 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The INDIA bloc could be heading for another rift in Maharashtra after Bihar, as Congress has refused to contest the Mumbai civic polls in alliance. Senior Congress leader and former Mumbai president Bhai Jagtap dismissed the idea of contesting the election from the same side as MNS' Raj Thackeray.
Jagrap on Tuesday said that the Congress party has decided to go solo in the upcoming civic polls, and will not form alliances with either Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) or Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT).
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The decision to go solo in the civic polls was discussed at a recent meeting of a newly formed committee, led by Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala. But no official announcement has been made yet. Shiv Sena UBT leader Anand Dubey has already responded critically to Bhai Jagtap's statement.
"The decision on alliance will be taken by senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Sena's Uddhav Thackeray," Shiv Sena leader said.
"Do not challenge us. We are Shiv Sena and in the last election we contested alone and defeated the BJP. We respect our alliance partners but are also ready to contest the elections alone," he added.
The Congress and Shiv Sena have been in alliance since 2019 despite their opposite ideology. The alliance between these two opposite ideologies was formed by Nationalist Congress chief Sharad Pawar.
The Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav, are eager to form an alliance before the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Asia's richest civic body. Although Congress seems to be clear in its stance, it's unclear how its ally, Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party, will react to this potential development.
In Bihar, the Mahagathabandhan seems to be failing the challenges of the time ahead of the assembly polls 2025, as several candidates of RJD and Congress overlap after RJD announced the candidate list, revealing that the party will contest on 143 constituencies.
The parties have fielded candidates unilaterally, setting up friendly contests in a bunch of seats that could benefit the BJP.