Mumbai, Feb 10 (NationPress) The Maharashtra Congress president, Harshwardhan Sapkal, has accused the BJP of engaging in horse trading to secure victory in the mayoral election of the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation.

Moreover, he expressed strong disapproval of the Shiv Sena, a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and INDIA Alliance, for backing the BJP instead of Congress during the mayoral election.

Sapkal highlighted that the AIMIM chose to remain neutral, inadvertently assisting the BJP.

“The absence of councillors from our new ally, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, during the voting led to the BJP candidate winning by a mere one vote. The decision made by Shiv Sena (UBT) in Chandrapur will undoubtedly have state-wide implications. Should the Congress party consider a similar approach in Parbhani?” queried Sapkal.

In Parbhani, the Shiv Sena UBT will rely on Congress's support to secure the mayoral position. Sapkal remarked that the hidden partnership between the BJP and AIMIM has once again surfaced in Chandrapur, following similar occurrences in Anjangaon Surji, Akot, and Achalpur.

“By opting for neutrality in the Chandrapur mayoral election, AIMIM effectively bolstered the BJP’s position; it is increasingly apparent that the BJP and AIMIM are two sides of the same coin. Congress made earnest efforts to include the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi; had they backed Congress, a Congress mayor would have been elected,” he added.

Sapkal continued, “We endeavored to unite the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Vijay Wadettiwar, and MP Pratibha Dhanorkar to facilitate the election of a Congress mayor, and they collaborated accordingly. There has been no division within the Congress ranks. A report regarding this election will be requested from party observers, followed by a comprehensive discussion.”

Earlier, in a politically charged atmosphere, the BJP successfully appointed its Mayor in the Chandrapur Municipal Corporation, following an unexpected turn involving six corporators from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

The election of Sangeeta Khandekar as Mayor represents a significant setback for the Congress party, which had emerged as the largest party in the recent civic elections but fell short of securing the top position by just one vote.

Sources within Shiv Sena UBT indicated that the decision to support the BJP was made by the Chandrapur unit due to dissatisfaction with factionalism and internal disputes within the Congress party.

The mayoral election concluded with a dramatic finish, as BJP nominee Sangeeta Khandekar garnered 32 votes, while the Congress candidate received 31 votes.

Two corporators from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi were absent, and the sole AIMIM corporator abstained from voting. The majority threshold was effectively lowered due to AIMIM’s neutral position and VBA's absence, enabling the BJP to achieve what local analysts are calling a “political miracle.”