Maha: Congress leaders raise the pitch to contest 2022 Mumbai civic polls solo

Congress leaders on Monday reiterated their demand to contest the Mumbai civic elections, due early next year, independently.

The Congress is part of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra along with the NCP.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra HK Patil on Monday held talks with former ministers, ex-chief ministers, and leaders who contested the 2019 Assembly polls on the Congress ticket to discuss the preparations for the elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) controlled by the Shiv Sena.

A senior Congress leader said the party leaders who had contested the last Lok Sabha elections didn't turn up at the meeting.

"Patil heard the views of leaders who said the Congress should contest alone as it is a local boy election and workers need to be accommodated. He urged the Mumbai unit and all leaders to work unitedly and ensure that the party wins maximum seats," the leader said.

He said Patil held discussions with office-bearers on how to strengthen the Congress in the Konkan region, from Palghar to Sindhudurg, the home turf of BJP MP and Union minister Narayan Rane.

Elections to ten municipal corporations including Mumbai, 27 Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samities in their areas are due early next year.

In the 2017 BMC elections, the BJP had made giant strides by giving a tough fight to the Sena which scraped through to retain the civic body.