A significant political realignment has taken shape in the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Congress both in the opposition coming together to form a new alliance.
Corporators from the two parties have jointly floated the Mira-Bhayandar City Development Front (Mira-Bhayandar Shahar Vikas Aghadi). The alliance was formally registered with the Konkan Divisional Commissioner on Thursday. In a notable move, the leadership of the newly formed front has been handed to a Congress corporator, signalling a calculated strategy in local self-governance politics.
The development has also altered the arithmetic of nominated seats in the civic body. The number of nominated members has increased from five to nine.
Had the parties applied separately, the BJP would have secured eight nominated seats, with Congress limited to one.
The alliance, however, ensures that the Shinde-led Sena also gains a nominated position.
Explaining the rationale behind the move, senior Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik clarified that the alliance does not amount to a merger. “We have not merged with the Congress. Corporators from both parties have come together to form an independent front so that the ruling party’s brute majority is not misused. Taken together, our numerical strength is far greater than that of the BJP,” Sarnaik said.
“This alliance has been formed to bring together opposition forces and ensure accountability in the functioning of the civic body,” Sarnaik said.
The tie-up follows a pattern of unexpected political alignments in Maharashtra’s municipal politics. Recently, in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, the Shinde-led Sena joined hands with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a move that drew attention for its political audacity.
