Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to immediately withdraw from local-level alliances formed with the Congress and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in two municipal councils of the state. Calling such tie-ups “not acceptable,” Fadnavis said strict action would be taken if party workers were found to have violated party directives.

The issue came to light ahead of the Maharashtra municipal council elections scheduled for January 15, after reports emerged that the BJP had entered into alliances with the Congress in Ambernath and with AIMIM in Akot.

Reacting strongly, Fadnavis said, “Alliance with Congress and AIMIM is not acceptable. It will have to be broken. Accordingly, directives have been issued. The matter will be looked into, and disciplinary action will be taken if anybody has violated orders. The BJP cannot accept an alliance with Congress or MIM. We have made it clear.”

Following this development, the Maharashtra Congress also took action. Hours after Fadnavis’ statement, the party announced the suspension of Ambernath Congress chief Pradip Patil. The Ambernath Congress committee was also suspended.

In Ambernath, which is located around 60 km from Mumbai, a local alliance named Ambernath Vikas Aghadi was formed. The alliance was reportedly created to keep the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena out of power. The group included 14 BJP members, 12 Congress members, four members from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and one Independent member.

A letter confirming the formation of this alliance was submitted to the Thane district collector. The letter also named Abhijeet Gulabrao Karanjule-Patil as the group leader of the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi.

In the Ambernath municipal council, the BJP managed to win the chairman’s post, defeating the Shiv Sena. However, the Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party by winning 27 seats in the council. Both Maharashtra BJP chief Ravindra Chavan and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde hail from Thane district.

Sources indicated that the BJP registered the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi in order to retain control over the group leader’s post amid a power struggle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

A similar situation emerged in Akot, located in Vidarbha’s Akola district. Here, the BJP formed another local alliance called Akot Vikas Manch (Akot Development Forum). In this alliance, the BJP tied up with AIMIM, which won five seats—making it the party with the highest number of seats after the BJP.

The Akot Vikas Manch also includes both factions of the Shiv Sena (the Uddhav Thackeray-led group and the Eknath Shinde-led group), both factions of the NCP (Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar), and Bachchu Kadu’s Prahar Janshakti Party.

The registration details of this alliance were submitted to the Akola district collector on Tuesday. BJP corporator Ravi Thakur has been appointed as the group leader of the Akot Vikas Manch. As a result, all corporators belonging to the alliance partners will now be required to follow the whip issued by the front’s leader.

This alliance is expected to vote together in the upcoming elections for the deputy president and co-opted members, scheduled for January 13. At present, the front has the support of 25 out of 33 elected members. Municipal council president Maya Dhule serves as the 26th member.

Maya Dhule had earlier defeated AIMIM candidate Firojabi Sikandar Rana by a margin of 5,271 votes in the election for the council chairperson’s post. Meanwhile, six Congress members and two members of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi will sit in the Opposition.

Commenting on the controversy, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sapkal denied the possibility of any alliance with the BJP. He said that there was no question of such a tie-up, as both parties had contested elections against each other.

Earlier, Congress sources stated that a report had been sought regarding the matter and that appropriate action would be taken if the allegations were found to be true.