Mumbai: Congress announced its first list of 87 candidates for the 150 BMC seats it plans to contest, amid fears of rebellion after denial of tickets. The list includes several former corporators and their kin, Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh’s son, sister, and nephew; and Rajya Sabha member Chandrakant Handore’s daughter. Mumbai Congress spokesperson Sureshchandra Rajhans will contest from the Magathane area.Many former corporators managed to get the seats they demanded for their kin or spouse, but a few of them were denied tickets, along with other party loyalists, which created unrest.At Bandra West, ex-corporator Asif Zakaria was unable to contest as his seat was reserved for women, and he refused to field a female family member as they were not active in politics. Instead, he suggested the name of a long-time party worker, but Congress was reluctant. The party did not announce a candidate until late on Monday.The party also kept some seats on hold, as it expects rebellion in ruling parties and MVA alliance partners and expects their disgruntled leaders to join Congress seeking tickets.Congress, which is part of the MVA, has decided to go solo for the BMC polls and formed an alliance with smaller parties, including Prakash Ambedkar-led VBA, which has been allocated 62 seats, Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and CPI.AICC secretary Sachin Sawant and party leaders continued discussions with the smaller parties until late Monday, even as they kept a close watch on the activities in BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.A Congress leader said, “The party is no longer willing to remain a passive participant in broader coalitions (MVA). Instead, it will try to cover the possible political space by reshaping its role and alliance partners.”
