Akola/Thane, Jan 7: Politics continues to throw up unlikely alliances. After partnering with its traditional rival Congress to wrest control of the Ambernath Municipal Council from the Shiv Sena, the BJP has now stitched together an equally surprising alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM in Akot to secure control of the Municipal Council there.

In Akot, BJP’s Maya Dhule was elected President despite the party falling short of a majority in the 35-member council. Of the 33 seats contested last month, the BJP won only 11. To bridge the gap, the party floated a new front — the Akot Vikas Manch — to consolidate numbers.

In a move that has raised eyebrows across political circles, the AIMIM, which secured five seats and was the BJP’s principal rival in the contest, has joined the BJP-led alliance. The front also includes both factions of the Shiv Sena (Shinde and UBT), both factions of the NCP (Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar), and Bacchu Kadu’s Prahar Janshakti Party.

BJP corporator Ravi Thakur has been appointed group leader, and a whip has been issued mandating alliance members to vote as directed by the BJP.

With this combination, the ruling alliance commands the support of 25 councillors, plus the President, taking its effective strength to 26 in the 33-member house. The Congress (6) and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (2) will sit in the opposition.

The final tally of the 33 elected seats in Akot stands at: BJP 11, Congress 6, AIMIM 5, Prahar Janshakti Party 3, Shiv Sena (UBT) 2, NCP (Ajit Pawar) 2, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi 2, Shiv Sena (Shinde) 1 and NCP (Sharad Pawar) 1.

The Akot alliance has sparked controversy, particularly in light of the BJP’s recent high-decibel “Batenge toh Katenge” campaign during the Assembly elections, with critics pointing out the contradiction between the slogan and a tie-up with the AIMIM.

A similar display of political pragmatism unfolded in Thane district’s Ambernath Municipal Council. In a setback for its state-level ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP entered into an understanding with the Congress to secure control of the civic body.

In the 60-member Ambernath council, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) emerged as the single largest party with 27 seats, followed by the BJP (14), Congress (12), NCP (Ajit Pawar) (4) and three independents. By aligning with the Congress, NCP and two independents, the BJP cobbled together a working majority of 32 seats, capturing the President’s post and relegating the Shinde faction to the opposition. The Shiv Sena, even with the support of one independent, fell short at 28.

Despite the BJP’s national pitch for a “Congress-mukt Bharat,” the party’s local unit has moved ahead with Congress support to retain power, triggering visible discontent within the MahaYuti alliance.

Now attention is focused on how these “unnatural” alliances will play out on the ground — and how the BJP leadership reconciles these local compulsions with its broader political messaging.

Mumbai: woke up on Wednesday to a chill winter morning, with clear blue skies, cool breezes and a noticeable dip in temperatures, offering residents a fleeting sense of relief. The early hours felt fresh and pleasant, raising hopes of a comfortable day ahead. However, the respite was short-lived as a dense blanket of smog gradually engulfed the city, reducing visibility and once again highlighting Mumbai’s deepening air pollution crisis.

The IMD had predicted a bright and pleasant day, with minimum and maximum temperatures expected to hover between 19 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius. Despite favourable weather forecasts by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), air quality quickly emerged as the city’s biggest concern. By morning, several parts of Mumbai were shrouded in haze in the air.

According to data from air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) touched 316 during the early hours, placing it firmly in the ‘severe’ category. Health experts warned that such levels pose serious risks, especially to children, senior citizens and people suffering from respiratory or cardiac ailments. Residents were advised to avoid outdoor activities and limit exposure to polluted air.

The persistent poor air quality has largely been attributed to dust and fine particulate matter generated by the city’s relentless construction activity. Multiple large-scale infrastructure projects, including metro rail corridors, flyovers, coastal road extensions and road-widening works, are underway across Mumbai.

These, coupled with rapid private real estate development, continue to release major pollutants into the atmosphere. Vehicular emissions during peak traffic hours further worsen the situation, making effective air quality management a growing challenge for civic authorities.

Several areas across the city emerged as major pollution hotspots. Wadala East recorded a dangerously high AQI of 388, categorised as ‘severe’ and posing health risks even to healthy individuals. Chembur followed closely with an AQI of 370, while Colaba reported 338. Worli and Deonar also recorded alarming AQI levels of 334 each, placing them in the severe pollution bracket.

Suburban areas fared slightly better but remained far from safe. Kandivali East and Jogeshwari East reported AQI readings of 207 and 217 respectively, falling under the ‘unhealthy’ category. Borivali West recorded 223, Borivali East 263, and Powai 287, indicating that air pollution remains widespread across the city rather than confined to select pockets.

As per standard air quality classifications, AQI levels between 0 and 50 are considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 ‘moderate’, 101 to 200 ‘poor’, 201 to 300 ‘unhealthy’, while readings above 300 fall under the ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’ category.

Mumbai: During the municipal elections, the leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray group are constantly trying to spread chaos. Sometimes they are spreading wrong information and sometimes they are doing politics in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Former Shiv Sena minister and MLA Deepak Kesarkar expressed his strong displeasure and reacted strongly to this irresponsible statement of the UBT. In a press conference held in Mumbai, Deepak Kesarkar said that the UBT leaders are busy defaming Maharashtra. They do not have any development plan, hence they are constantly making misleading and unnecessary statements. Shiv Sena national spokesperson Shaina NC was also present at the press conference.

Deepak Kesarkar questioned the UBT leaders and said that if Uddhav Thackeray can be elected unopposed, why not other candidates? It is wrong to repeatedly question the election process. The Election Commission works with complete transparency and under this transparency, all the candidates were elected unopposed. UBT has no development agenda, while Mahayoti is moving forward with development issues, which is why people have faith in Mahayoti.

Reacting strongly to Sanjay Raut’s statements, Deepak Kesarkar said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj belongs not only to Maharashtra but to the entire country. The kind of politics Sanjay Raut is playing in the name of a great personality shows that his health is still not good. He should re-evaluate himself so that he can stop making such absurd statements.

He added that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was given the highest honour during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shivaji Maharaj’s emblem was included in the Indian Navy’s emblem, a move that no government had done before.

Shiv Sena national spokesperson Shaina NC targeted UBT and said that in the last 25 years, Mumbai has been full of potholes. However, now Shiv Sena central leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has pledged to make Mumbai pothole-free. The work has started, and by 2027, all the roads of Mumbai will be pothole-free.

He added that a detailed blueprint for Mumbai was prepared in an important meeting between Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik. Under this blueprint, several important decisions related to roads and transportation have been taken, which will provide significant relief to the people of Mumbai.