The Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the Thane district collector’s decisions regarding the Ambernath municipal council, de-recognising the Ambernath Vikas Aghadi (AVA) — a BJP-Congress alliance — and recognising the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction as a pre-poll alliance. Ambernath has 59 seats, with 30 needed to form the local government. After the December 20 polls, no party had a majority, prompting the BJP (14 seats) to ally with Congress (12 seats), which the collector recognised as a pre-poll alliance on January 7.
The move sparked political turmoil, with Congress expelling its members who joined the BJP, alongside an Independent councillor and four NCP members backing the alliance. Meanwhile, the Shinde Sena, with 27 councillors, claimed support from the same four NCP members to stake its claim to form the government. On January 9, the collector recognised this new alliance and de-recognised the AVA, prompting the latter to approach the High Court.
During hearings, Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri humorously remarked on the frequent switching of sides by NCP members as “globe-trotting,” while keeping the collector’s orders in abeyance. The court directed the collector to hear all parties — BJP, Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena — before issuing a fresh order. Parties must submit written arguments by January 28, after which the collector must decide within 21 days. The court also ordered that the collector’s previous orders remain in abeyance for two weeks, allowing aggrieved parties to approach the court.
