Twelve councillors elected to the Ambernath Municipal Council have formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after being suspended by the Indian National Congress for supporting the saffron party following the civic polls, reshaping the political arithmetic in the industrial township on Mumbai’s eastern flank.The induction was announced late on Wednesday night by Ravindra Chavan at the party office, where he framed the development as a convergence around governance priorities rather than a scramble for office. Chavan said the councillors had aligned themselves with a platform they believed could deliver infrastructure upgrades, civic services and investment momentum for Ambernath and its adjoining areas.
The move follows weeks of internal discord within the Congress unit in the city after the municipal results produced a fractured mandate. Party leaders had alleged that the councillors defied the organisation’s whip during negotiations to form the council’s leadership, prompting disciplinary action that culminated in their suspension. The councillors, in turn, argued that the local verdict required pragmatic cooperation to prevent administrative paralysis.
Ambernath, part of the fast-growing Thane district, has seen its civic politics sharpen as population growth strains roads, drainage, water supply and solid-waste systems. The council’s composition after the polls left no single party with a clear majority, turning post-election alignments into a decisive factor for who would steer the civic body. The BJP’s ability to attract a bloc of councillors now strengthens its hand in determining the council’s leadership and policy direction.
Chavan told party workers that the councillors’ decision reflected “a shared commitment to development” and not the pursuit of positions. He pointed to ongoing state-backed projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as evidence of the BJP’s administrative capacity, adding that local bodies needed alignment with higher tiers of government to accelerate execution. The party has repeatedly stressed coordination between municipalities and the state to fast-track approvals and funding.
For the Congress, the episode underscores the organisational challenge it faces in municipal politics across urban Maharashtra, where shifting alliances and defections have tested party discipline. Leaders within the party said the suspensions were necessary to uphold internal processes and signal that post-poll bargaining must respect collective decisions. Privately, some acknowledged the difficulty of holding together councillors in closely contested councils where control hinges on small numbers.
Opposition parties in the council have criticised the crossover as opportunistic, arguing that voters did not mandate such a realignment. They contend that defections erode public trust and blur accountability in local governance. The BJP has rejected that characterisation, saying councillors remain answerable to residents and will be judged by delivery on the ground.
The councillors who switched sides maintained that their priority was to unblock stalled civic works and ensure continuity in administration. Several cited delays in road resurfacing, storm-water upgrades and waste management contracts as areas needing urgent attention. They also pointed to the town’s industrial base and commuter population, arguing that infrastructure lag could undercut economic prospects.
Municipal governance experts note that Ambernath’s situation mirrors a broader pattern in urban local bodies where no party secures a decisive mandate. In such scenarios, alliances often hinge on development agendas, access to state resources and the promise of administrative stability. While defections attract controversy, they are frequently defended by participants as necessary to avoid prolonged uncertainty.