Mumbai: Somewhat over a fortnight earlier than the BMC polls, the Congress has solid an alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA), led by Dr B R Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, and finalised a seat-sharing pact Sunday. 

The Congress stated the alliance is just for Mumbai, and for the remainder of the 28 municipal firms going to polls in Maharashtra, a call can be taken on the native degree. 

With this alliance, Congress hopes to capitalise on Dalit votebank. The BMC polls are scheduled for 15 January, with counting set for the subsequent day. 

संविधानाला अभिप्रेत असणारा भारत घडवणे हा भारतीय राष्ट्रीय काँग्रेस आणि वंचित बहुजन आघाडीचा अजेंडा आहे.

: मा.श्री. हर्षवर्धन सपकाळ
अध्यक्ष – महाराष्ट्र प्रदेश काँग्रेस कमिटी pic.twitter.com/wRedGdWjLN

— Maharashtra Congress (@INCMaharashtra) December 28, 2025

Final month, the Congress had additionally tied up with the VBA for the Nanded municipal company elections. Congress MP Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan had stated through the announcement that the alliance had the “potential to develop considerably right into a broader settlement” sooner or later.

The combat for India’s richest municipal physique is ready to be an attention-grabbing one as a result of unlikely alliances which were solid to combat it. Whereas Mahayuti allies BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena are contesting collectively, Uddhav Thackeray has teamed up along with his estranged cousin and erstwhile rival Raj Thackeray, in a partnership that has been the speak of the city as they be a part of forces to win over the ‘Marathi manoos’. 

Curiously, the BJP and its second Mahayuti ally, Ajit Pawar’s NCP, are contesting individually. Sharad Pawar’s NCP has not but introduced any tie-up.

Nonetheless, up to now, relations between Congress and VBA have been filled with friction. 

Within the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the VBA had tied up with the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and dented the prospects of the Congress-NCP coalition in not less than seven seats.

The alliance with the AIMIM collapsed forward of the meeting elections later that 12 months, and the VBA went on to win 4.5 per cent of the vote, or 5.5 per cent in simply the seats it contested (236 out of 288 seats).

In January 2023, Ambedkar and Uddhav’s Sena solid an alliance. Forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the VBA joined the seat-sharing talks of the opposition bloc MVA. Nonetheless, the talks fell by way of and Ambedkar later determined to combat the elections alone.

Within the 2024 Lok Sabha polls although, the VBA’s vote share dropped to three per cent.

Even through the meeting elections final 12 months, the VBA contested in opposition to the MVA, nevertheless it didn’t get any seats and its voteshare dropped additional to 2.8 %.

The Congress says it’s nonetheless part of the MVA, which additionally includes the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT and Sharad Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Social gathering (NCP).

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)

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