Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS) Maharashtra Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Abu Azmi has said that the “arrogance” of Congress is “drowning” the party and that it no longer has a “stable vote bank”.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Azmi announced that the SP will contest the upcoming local body elections in Mumbai independently, adding that his party plans to field candidates in 150 of the 227 seats in the BMC elections.

Attacking the Congress, Azmi alleged that the party always assumes the position of dominance in any alliance and claimed that in the past, it had even walked out of partnerships just ahead of final seat-sharing decisions.

“Akhilesh Yadav formed an alliance very carefully, and we did well… However, Congress is facing the consequences of its own actions. Look at their condition… Congress’ arrogance is pulling it down. What does it do in the name of contesting for minorities? The party no longer has a stable vote bank. Despite being a national party, its role in the alliance is also not satisfactory,” Azmi told reporters.

Reiterating his decision to contest without any coalition, Azmi said that earlier alliances brought only “betrayal”.

He added that while the SP wants all secular forces to stand together to prevent vote-splitting, larger parties “only know how to take and do not know how to give”.

Azmi also accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of unfairly distributing funds.

“If you join hands with Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar, their people get funds. Shivajinagar-Govandi gets the least money,” he claimed, referring to his own Assembly constituency.

He further targeted Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), accusing it of insulting North Indians, and warned that any party allying with the MNS would suffer electoral setbacks.

Calling the Samajwadi Party a “movement”, Azmi said the party represents “the poor, the backward and the voiceless” and asserted that it will continue its struggle on its own.

–IANS

sd/dpb