The Maharashtra Congress has unveiled a strategic shift in its approach to the upcoming local body elections, opting to form alliances with smaller and like-minded parties outside the ruling Mahayuti coalition. This decision comes amid growing concerns within the party about a significant exodus of workers and leaders from its major Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies—the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP)—to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other ruling parties.
New Alliances and Finalized Candidates
The party's new strategy was finalized during a crucial two-day meeting, where the process of selecting candidates for the municipal council and municipal panchayat elections was completed. Congress state president Harshvardhan Sapkal addressed the media after the meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2025, outlining the party's revised plan.
"The candidature has been finalised after discussing with the local leadership. The political equations of each district are different," Sapkal stated. He confirmed that while the alliance with MVA partners remains intact at the state level, the Congress will join forces with several regional parties at the grassroots level. These include Prakash Ambedkar's Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), the Shetkari Sanghatana, and the Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP).
According to insider sources, the alliance with the VBA is particularly significant and is expected to span at least 12 districts, including Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Sapkal also clarified that no proposal for an alliance with Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had been received from any district unit.
The Exodus Driving the Strategy
A senior Congress legislator, who attended the meeting, revealed the stark reality facing the opposition. "On ground, the Mahayuti has poached almost entire organisational strength of parties led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. It is one of the darkest realities of this election," the leader stated.
This large-scale defection has left the Thackeray and Pawar-led parties with a severely weakened organizational structure in many districts. Consequently, the Congress finds itself with little choice but to seek partnerships with smaller, non-Mahayuti parties to maintain a competitive footing. The legislator provided specific examples: In Satara, the ally is the RSP led by Mahadev Jankar. In Kolhapur, it is Raju Shetti's Shetkari Sanghatana. In Raigad, the PWP is a natural ally. The leader also conceded that in numerous other locations, the party would have to contest the elections alone.
Technical Hurdles and SEC Clarification
Beyond political maneuvering, the party also raised concerns about the election process itself. Maharashtra Congress Legislative party leader Vijay Wadettiwar demanded that the State Election Commission (SEC) reintroduce an offline nomination process alongside the current online system.
"The nomination form is of 20 pages. The tedious process is made such that applications of the Opposition parties be rejected at the last moment. We demand that the applications be accepted offline as well along with online," Wadettiwar asserted. He had held a meeting with State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare to press this demand.
However, sources within the SEC told The Indian Express that it had received no complaints from candidates since the nomination process began. Later on Thursday evening, the SEC issued a press statement to clarify the procedure. It stated that for the municipal council and panchayat elections, candidates are only required to fill out the nomination form and affidavit on the website, with no need to upload any documents. "It is necessary to take a printout of the nomination form and affidavit filled in with complete information on the website, sign it and submit the entire set along with the necessary documents to the concerned Returning Officer within the prescribed time," the Commission clarified.
The Congress's new alliance strategy marks a pivotal moment in Maharashtra's political landscape, reflecting the ongoing turmoil within the opposition MVA and setting the stage for a highly contested local body election.
