Congress Will Not Contest BMC Polls with Thackeray Brothers, Says Bhai Jagtap

Senior Congress leader Bhai Jagtap said here today that Congress party will not contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in alliance with the Thackeray brothers. Jagtap has long been known as a loyal Congress leader and has also served as the President of the Mumbai Congress.

“Forget Raj Thackeray- we will not contest even with Uddhav Thackeray in the Mumbai civic elections, " Jagtap told reporters today.

He said "When I was the Mumbai Congress president, I had clearly said this. During the meeting of our Political Affairs Committee, I also conveyed the same to senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala."

"The Congress workers who have carried the party flag on their shoulders for years also wish to contest elections some day. So, let the workers fight these elections. Let the local workers decide who they want to ally with or not. We are local workers of Mumbai; therefore, we should fight on our own strength," said Jagtap.

“I told the Political Affairs Committee that we should not go with Uddhavji in the BMC elections- and the question of going with Raj Thackeray does not even arise. The Congress has never said that it would ally with Raj Thackeray," he said.

"The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is not just Shiv Sena; when Uddhav Thackeray joined the MVA, Shiv Sena was a single party. Now, there are two Shiv Senas. Hence, the decision about contesting independently in Mumbai should be left to the local Congress workers," he added.

"The local cadre does not wish to contest elections in allianace with the Thackeray brothers," Bhai Jagtap explained.