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The polls were held last month, during which Shiv Sena and BJP, despite being allies at the state and national levels, contested separately.
Voting for Ambernath municipal council polls took place on December 20.
In a rare alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have joined hands in the Ambernath Municipal Council in Thane to snatch the civic body from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.
The BJP has chosen to seek power with the Congress to keep the Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction out of power. Notably, the political developments in the Ambernath Municipal Council have stirred up the Maharashtra politics.
In a surprise move, the BJP has joined hands with councillors from Congress and the Ajit
Pawar-headed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to form the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi and take control of a municipal council in the Mumbai region.
The polls were held last month, during which Shiv Sena and BJP, despite being allies at the state and national levels, contested separately.
Notably, in the 60-member council, Sena emerged as the single-largest party, winning 27 seats. Meanwhile, BJP secured 14 seats, while the Congress party won 12. Additionally, Ajit Pawar-headed NCP managed to secure victory over four seats. Two independents were also
elected.
Despite becoming the single-largest party, Shiv Sena suffered a setback in election to the municipal president’s post, where its candidate Manisha Walekar lost to BJP nominee Tejashree Karanjule Patil.
Meanwhile, Congress has suspended the Ambernath Congress president Pradeep Patil over tie up with the BJP.
However, the recent developments have caused widespread discontent within the Shiv Sena, with leaders belonging to the Shinde camp launching a scathing attack on the BJP, calling the alliance an “indecent alliance.”
Shinde Camp Accuses BJP Of Back-Stabbing
MLA Dr Balaji of the Shinde group accused the BJP, which advocates for a Congress-free India, of attacking the Shiv Sena by allying with the Congress.
The BJP, which had proclaimed a Congress-free India, formed an alliance with the Congress in the Ambernath Municipal Council in Thane. The Shiv Sena described this alliance as a stab in the back, while the BJP rejected these allegations.
BJP Rejects Allegations
BJP vice president Gulabrao Karanjule Patil hit back at the Shinde group, saying that if formed an alliance with the Shinde group, which has been involved in corruption for the past 25 years, that would have been an inappropriate alliance.
He also claimed that he had tried several times to discuss a grand alliance with the Shinde group for the Ambernath Municipal Council, but received no response from their leaders.
While the BJP-Congress alliance is discussing the road ahead following the power-sharing arrangement in the Ambernath Municipal Council, the alliance has created tension within the grand alliance.
Maharashtra, India, India
January 07, 2026, 10:38 IST
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