Mumbai, Dec 29 (IANS) The Congress party on Monday announced the first list of 87 candidates for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). This comes a day after the party announced its alliance with the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the civic polls.

The list includes candidates from key areas of the city, including Colaba, Mumbadevi, Malabar Hill, Byculla, Versova, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Dindoshi, Goregaon, Kurla, Kalina, Dharavi, Bandra, Chandivali, Walada, Sion Koliwada, Chembur, Mulund, Bhandup, Malad, Mankhurd, Dahisar, and Kandivali.

The Mumbai unit President Varsha Gaikwad said, “We will fight for every Mumbaikar’s right. With unity, organisation, and commitment on the ground, the Mumbai Congress enters this election prepared and determined. We will fight for the common Mumbaikar and to save democracy, along with our allies. The journey ahead is demanding, but the people are with us, and we shall win.”

Of the 87 candidates, Congress has fielded 36 women candidates from the Open, SC, and OBC categories. From Ward No. 212 (Byculla), Congress has fielded Nazia Ashfaque Siddiqui, who is set to contest against Geeta Gawli, the elder daughter of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli.

Geeta Gawli has submitted her nomination from Ward No. 212 on the ticket of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena.

The Congress party had earlier announced to go solo, but joined hands with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. The party distanced itself from aligning with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena following its tie-up with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

Meanwhile, the state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “Congress and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) are natural allies with a common agenda of safeguarding constitutional values. Congress and VBA, in its earlier form of Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh, have fought together before 1999, and the results were such that we swept the majority of Lok Sabha seats. That tradition was discontinued in between. I am happy to announce that we have now decided to fight the Mumbai elections in alliance.”

–IANS

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