Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Jan 16: The Congress suffered a major setback in its traditional urban bastion as it slid to a historic low in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, managing to win only 15 of the 227 seats on Friday. This marks a sharp decline from the 31 seats the party had secured in the 2017 civic polls.
The Congress had contested 152 seats, leaving the remaining to its allies — the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and the Republican Party of India (Gavai faction). However, political observers said the alliance failed to deliver any electoral dividend and instead proved to be a strategic miscalculation.
With the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena poised to wrest control of the BMC, Congress has been reduced to a marginal force in Mumbai’s political landscape. Ahead of the elections, the party chose to go it alone, staying away from its Maha Vikas Aghadi partners — Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). The decision was driven by fears that an alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena would alienate North Indian and minority voters.
The move, however, appears to have backfired. As the BJP consolidated non-Marathi Hindu votes and the Thackeray factions retained anti-BJP support, Congress found itself squeezed from both sides. In several of its traditional strongholds, the party lost ground to both the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena amid sharp linguistic and religious polarisation.
Observers also pointed to internal factionalism and the absence of a compelling campaign narrative as key factors behind the party’s poor showing. While the BJP focused on infrastructure development and the Thackeray cousins campaigned aggressively on Marathi identity, Congress struggled to present a clear and cohesive agenda.
“The Congress in Mumbai has become a party of isolated pockets rather than a unified force,” a political analyst remarked, adding that the lack of a strong leadership face and a distinct political vision failed to energise even its core supporters.
More worrying for the party is the visible erosion of its traditional vote base. Early trends indicate a fragmentation of Muslim and Dalit votes, with AIMIM, the Samajwadi Party and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP making inroads into Congress’ support base.
The debacle is expected to intensify calls for a leadership overhaul in the city unit, currently headed by MP Varsha Gaikwad. For a party that once dominated Mumbai’s civic politics and shaped the city’s post-Independence growth, the fall to just 15 seats signals not merely an electoral defeat but a deeper crisis of relevance in urban Maharashtra.