Local Cong units authorised to take decision regarding alliances

Mumbai, Dec 27 (UNI) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Prabha Rau today said committees have been set up at local levels in the party to take decisions regarding seat adjustments with NCP and other secular parties for the ten Municipal Corporations and 27 Zilla Parishad elections to held in February.

Addressing a press conference here, Ms Rau said the local level committees have been authorised to initiate discussions with friendly parties. She said talks have already begun for seat adjustments in Mumbai while discussions would start in Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nagpur, Akola and Nashik.

Ms Rau said there has been no word from NCP on alliance in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Amravati, Solapur and Pune. She indicated that Congress might enter into alliance with other secular parties in these corporations.

She said talks for the 27 ZP and 308 panchayat samiti polls to be held in two phases on February 11 and 14 would begin after seat adjustments for Municipal Corporation elections to be held on February one were formalised.

The MPCC president also announced that a media committee of MPCC had been formed in view of the elections for accurate dessimination of news regarding party's stand on various issues. The committee includes state unit spokespersons Anant Gadgil, Hussain Dalwai, Sanjay Nirupam and Suresh Deshmukh.

She said former minister and senior Congress leader Rohidas Patil would be the chairman of the committee.

Meanwhile, Apoorva and Adwait Hiray, grandsons of NCP leader Pushpatai Hiray from Nashik, along with sarpanchs of 42 villages in Nashik district belonging to the NCP joined the Congress.

Former Shiv Sena MP from Hingoli Shivajirao Mane, former Sena MLA from Satara Sadabhau Sankpal and former minister Salim Zakaria, who quit the BJP recently, also joined the Congress.

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