Globe-trotting leaders: Bombay High Court puts Ambernath council row on hold

Key Highlights

• This triggered considerable political uproar, with the Congress leadership rejecting the alliance and expelling its own elected members, who subsequently joined the BJP.
• By then, one Independent councillor and four NCP members from the Ajit Pawar faction had also joined the alliance. Soon after, the Shinde Sena, which had 27 elected members along with one Independent, reached out to the four NCP councillors while staking its claim to form the local government. On January 9, the Thane District Collector recognised this tie-up as a “pre-poll alliance” and de-recognised the AVA, prompting the latter to approach the Bombay High Court. On Monday, a bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri was hearing AVA’s plea challenging the collector’s decision.
• During the hearing, the bench humorously described the repeated switching of sides by the NCP members as “globe-trotting,” as it kept in abeyance the collector’s orders recognising and de-recognising the alliances in the civic body. Disposing of the plea, the bench relegated the matter back to the collector, directing him to grant a hearing to the BJP, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena and then pass a fresh order.“Today, these four persons (NCP members) are with him (Eknath Shinde).
• Yesterday, they were with someone else.
• They are globe-trotting.