NASHIK: The Congress and the BJP, which won three and two seats respectively in the Malegaon Municipal Corporation elections—otherwise considered insignificant—have come together to form Bharatiya Vikas Aghadi (BVA). This move allows them to leverage their small numbers for greater influence within the corporation. The group has been registered with the Nashik divisional commissioner.Ejaz Beg, president of the Congress city unit, has been named leader of the group, while BJP’s Madan Gaikwad is the deputy leader. Gaikwad said the decision to form the group was taken with the approval of senior party leaders.The corporation has a total of 84 seats. The ISLAM party emerged as the single largest party with 35 seats, followed by AIMIM with 21, Shiv Sena with 18, the Samajwadi Party with five, Congress with three, and BJP with two seats.“We have formed a group of five, and all members will make decisions collectively,” Beg said, adding that the group was formed to ensure representation of both parties on the corporation’s standing committee.However, the larger political calculation is more complex. ISLAM and the Samajwadi Party together hold 40 seats. There is speculation that Shiv Sena and AIMIM may come together, giving them 39 seats. In either scenario, no alliance can form the govt without the support of the BVA.“The magic number to form the govt is 43. Whichever alliance offers greater weightage to the BVA will be able to rule the corporation for the next five years. This formation gives Congress and BJP significant bargaining power, despite being at the bottom of the seat tally,” said a senior BJP functionary.If ISLAM makes an “attractive” offer, the BVA—and by extension the BJP—is likely to extend tacit support to that alliance to form the govt.There remains a possibility that AIMIM may support ISLAM to form the govt, which would reduce the importance of the BVA. However, talks between the two parties have reportedly stalled.“Through social media, ISLAM leaders are claiming they have received a clear mandate from the people and that AIMIM should support them unconditionally. This is not a clear mandate. We have won 21 seats, which is a substantial number. While we are not insisting on the mayor’s post, we want a clear development agenda, which they have not presented,” an AIMIM leader said.A senior Samajwadi Party leader, however, said under the current arrangement, ISLAM would get the mayor’s post, SP the deputy mayor’s position, and Congress was likely to be given the standing committee chairmanship, prompting AIMIM to bargain for a larger share.“In fact, they are trying to align with Shiv Sena to form the govt,” he claimed.AIMIM denied such plans but said the final decision would depend on the party’s central leadership.
