MVA allies should have been taken into confidence for drafting wards for civic polls: Congress

NAGPUR: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesday said all alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) should have been taken into confidence while drafting the ward structure for the elections to civic bodies.

The Congress leader was speaking to reporters in Nagpur about the party's disappointment over the ward structure in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). "When there is an alliance government, it is expected that the alliance parties together draft the ward structure. It is not right to put a friend in loss when we are all together, which is why the local Congress officer-bearers have expressed their disappointment," Patole said.

The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress are the main constituents of the MVA alliance. He further said that the party had demanded representation of two members in each prabhag (ward), but now there would be three-member wards.

"Be it in Mumbai or Pune, if some parties of the MVA draft the ward structure as per their convenience, then we will certainly approach the court on the issue," the Congress leader said. Civic elections are due in several major cities in the state, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Thane.