Sun Dec 28 11:42:04 UTC 2025: News Article:

Congress and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi Announce Alliance for Mumbai Civic Elections

Mumbai, December 28, 2025 – In a significant development ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Congress party and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by Prakash Ambedkar, have announced an alliance. The VBA will contest 62 of the 227 seats in the BMC, with Congress expected to contest more than 150 seats. Some seats will be allocated to the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and RPI (Gavai).

The announcement was made today by Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal and VBA State Vice-President Dhairyavardhan Pundkar. According to Sapkal, decisions regarding alliances for the remaining 28 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be determined at the local level, with local leadership authorized to make those decisions.

Sapkal emphasized that the alliance is based on shared ideology and a commitment to the Constitution, equality, fraternity, and social justice. Pundkar echoed this sentiment, stating that the alliance aims to counter the divisive politics of the BJP.

This marks the reunion of the two parties after a 25-year gap, having previously collaborated in the 1998 and 1999 elections.

The elections for 29 municipal corporations are scheduled for January 15, 2026, with the schedule for Zilla Parishad (ZP) polls yet to be announced. The Congress, which had initially planned to contest the BMC elections independently, won only 31 seats in the 2017 elections.

Read More