28 Congress councilors from Malegaon join NCP
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- However, the Congress said that 27 of the party’s 28 members have joined the NCP.
- Both the NCP and the Congress are allies in the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in the state.
- The NCP already has 20 councilors in the 84-member body
The NCP has claimed that all 28 councilors of the Congress in Malegaon town of Maharashtra’s Nashik district, including the mayor, joined the party on Thursday. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said 28 Congress councilors, including Malegaon mayor, joined the Sharad Pawar-led outfit in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state NCP president Jayant Patil in Mumbai.
The Congress, however, said that of the 28 party members in the Malegaon Municipal Corporation (MMC), 27 have joined the NCP. Both the NCP and the Congress are allies in the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in the state. The NCP already has 20 councilors in the 84-member body. The MMC has 13 members from Shiv Sena, 9 from BJP, 7 from AIMIM, 6 from JD(S) and one independent.
Both Patil and Pawar said the NCP would have one MLA in the next assembly elections in Malegaon and the party would work for the development of the city.
A state Congress functionary said the party councilors switched sides on the ground that funds for development projects in Malegaon were not being received. He said the allocation of development funds is done by NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who is also the finance minister.
When asked about the development, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said, “Even though Congress and NCP are allies in MVA, it is politics. Some NCP councilors are joining us. I will not divulge more details now.” He said that if NCP is defecting to Congress, then we will also decide what to do in future.
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