Thane, 07 January (HS): The Congress on Wednesday suspended 12 newly-elected councillors of the Ambernath Municipal Council along with its block president after they forged a post-poll alliance with the BJP following last month’s civic elections.

The party also dissolved the Ambernath block unit and suspended block president Pradip Patil, stating that the decision to align with the BJP in the local body was taken without informing or seeking approval from the party’s state leadership.

The disciplinary action came after a post-poll understanding was reached in Ambernath town of Thane district involving councillors from the BJP, Congress, the NCP and an independent member, giving the grouping a strength of 31 members in the 60-member council. The Shiv Sena remains the single largest party with 27 councillors.

The Congress clarified that there is no formal alliance between the party and the BJP. Party spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that several councillors had come together under the banner of the Ambernath Development Front (Ambernath Vikas Aghadi) by setting aside party affiliations, but the move was undertaken without official permission, prompting the issuance of show-cause notices and suspensions.

In the December 20 municipal polls, the Shiv Sena won 27 seats, the BJP 14, the Congress 12, the NCP four, while two independents were elected.

Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar