Civic churn in Maharashtra: Suspended Congress netas now try to join BJP in Ambernath after alliance row

MUMBAI: AICC secretary Sachin Sawant on Wednesday blamed the BJP for wooing its newly elected Ambernath municipal councillors into an opportunistic alliance. "Power-hungry BJP has also now tied up with its B-team, AIMIM, in another place (Akot) to get the council post," he said. The party has suspended its local block chief, Pradeep Patil, along with all 12 elected councillors for forging an alliance with BJP.State party president Harshwardhan Sapkal said, "We are against any alliance with the BJP, so we suspended the councillors along with the block chief of the party in Ambernath." BJP has won the maximum number of president posts in municipal councils in the state. However, since resolutions or proposals would need the majority's approval in the General Body, councillors have been forging alliances cutting across the political divide in order to control the civic body's functioning. In Akot, for instance, BJP members formed the 'Akot Vikas Manch' with AIMIM, besides support from the Sena (UBT), Shiv Sena, NCP, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and Bachchu Kadu's Prahar Janshakti Party. BJP had won 11 seats in the 35-member council, with 2 seats pending election, and the AIMIM had 2 seats. With the support of other parties, the alliance's strength stood at 25.Fadnavis, however, said on Wednesday that such arrangements were not approved by the party leadership. Such alliances would not be acceptable and action would be taken against the local leaders, he said."Any alliance with the Congress or AIMIM will not be accepted. If any local leader has taken such a decision on their own," Fadnavis told a news channel, adding that instructions had already been issued to scrap such alliances.Speaking to the media after his suspension, Pradeep Patil said he had informed senior leaders about the local-level tie-up forged after the elections. He claimed that the leadership had suspended the councillors without hearing their side. Patil said he now plans to meet the BJP state chief and the CM and will make efforts to formally join the BJP. Patil said, "We increased the Congress tally but our achievement was not acknowledged." He also alleged that Sapkal demanded Rs 1 crore from him in exchange for the post of block president, but he had refused to comply, after which Congress leader Mukul Wasnik facilitated his appointment. Patil alleged that his refusal to pay was the real reason behind the suspension.Another Congress leader said the suspended councillors would be considered as expelled as they are in the process of joining the BJP for "money and power." He said that since all the councillors took a joint decision, it would be difficult to initiate any disqualification proceedings against them under the anti-defection law. BJP-MIM tie-up in Akot falls in hrs after CM warning An alliance between BJP and AIMIM in Akola's Akot town collapsed on Wednesday within hours of CM Devendra Fadnavis publicly warning of action against BJP leaders involved in the arrangement. The state BJP unit issued a show-cause notice to Akot MLA Prakash Bharsakale, accusing him of promoting the alliance without consulting the party leadership. BJP won 11 seats in the 35-member Akot municipal council but failed to secure a clear majority. Councillors from BJP, AIMIM, both factions of Sena and NCP, Congress and Bachchu Kadu-led Prahar Janshakti Party then came together under a front named 'Akot Nagar Vikas Manch', claiming the backing of 25 councillors.