In a stunning political development that has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s political landscape, the Samajwadi Party has announced its exit from the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. The decision, confirmed by Maharashtra SP chief Abu Asim Azmi on November 19, 2025, marks a significant realignment ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other local body elections. This strategic move represents a major setback for the opposition coalition that had previously collaborated during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
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The announcement came during a press conference in Mumbai, where Azmi declared that his party would contest approximately 150 seats out of the 227 BMC constituencies independently. This bold decision reflects the growing tensions within the MVA, which comprises Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). The Samajwadi Party’s departure fundamentally alters the electoral calculations for upcoming civic polls scheduled across Maharashtra.
Congress Betrayal: Core Reason Behind SP’s Exit
Abu Azmi’s scathing criticism of Congress formed the centrepiece of his justification for why SP quit MVA. The Maharashtra SP chief accused Congress of consistently betraying alliance partners and maintaining an attitude of dominance that leaves little room for equal partnership. According to Azmi, during the previous Assembly elections, the MVA and Congress betrayed the Samajwadi Party by not allocating seats until the last date for filing nominations, ultimately offering just two seats without meaningful discussions.
Azmi elaborated that Congress operates with a mindset where it only wants to take without giving back to its allies. He pointed out that the party doesn’t even call SP representatives for alliance meetings, demonstrating a lack of respect and coordination. The SP leader characterised Congress’s approach as arrogant, suggesting that this arrogance is causing the party’s decline and contributing to its loss of a stable vote bank. These allegations paint a picture of systematic marginalisation that ultimately drove SP to quit the MVA decision.
The betrayal narrative extends beyond seat allocation issues. Azmi claimed that Congress has a pattern of changing alliance decisions at the last minute, leaving smaller parties in difficult positions. He emphasised that despite Congress projecting itself as a secular and minority-friendly party, its actions contradict these claims, with the party doing little substantive work for minority communities while suffering from poor leadership.
Strategic Independence: SP’s Electoral Plan
With the decision that SP quits MVA now finalised, the Samajwadi Party has outlined an ambitious independent electoral strategy across Maharashtra. The party plans to field candidates in 150 BMC seats and contest local body elections throughout the state wherever it perceives a realistic chance of victory. Azmi announced that the party would begin distributing nomination forms from November 20, signalling immediate mobilisation for the upcoming polls.
The SP’s strategic positioning emphasises its identity as a movement representing the poor, backward classes, and voiceless sections of society. Azmi characterised his party as fundamentally different from traditional political entities, describing it as committed to communal harmony and secular values. This independent positioning allows SP to craft its own narrative without being constrained by larger alliance partners who might dilute its core messaging.
Azmi has stated that he received complete authority from SP National President Akhilesh Yadav regarding election-related decisions in Maharashtra. This autonomy enables quick decision-making and eliminates the bureaucratic delays that often plague coalition politics. The party maintains that while it prefers secular forces to unite to prevent vote-splitting, the behaviour of larger parties makes such cooperation impractical and counterproductive.
MVA’s Dilemma: Impact of SP’s Departure
The fact that SP quits MVA creates significant complications for the opposition alliance, particularly given the competitive electoral environment in Maharashtra. The Maha Vikas Aghadi had already faced severe setbacks in the November 2024 Assembly elections, winning only 49 out of 288 seats, compared to their impressive performance in the Lok Sabha polls, where they secured 30 of 48 seats. The SP’s departure further weakens an already fragmented opposition.
The timing oSP’sSP quitting MVA is particularly problematic as it comes when Congress itself announced intentions to contest BMC elections independently, according to Azmi’s statements. This dual independence effectively dismantles the MVA structure for local body elections, potentially splitting secular votes and benefiting the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction). The Mahayuti has already declared its intention to contest the BMC elections together, targeting a two-thirds majority and 51 per cent vote share.
Internal tensions within MVA had been visible even before the SP quit MVA Shiv Sena (UBT) had criticised Congress for overconfidence after the Lok Sabha elections, with some leaders claiming that Congress members began discussing portfolios before winning elections. The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction has also reportedly entered discussions with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for potential collaboration in certain councils, adding another layer of complexity to opposition politics.
Additional Grievances: Beyond Alliance Issues
While Congress’s betrayal forms the primary narrative for why SP quits MVA, Azmi raised several other grievances that influenced this decision. He accused the BJP-led Maharashtra government of unfair fund distribution, claiming that constituencies aligned with Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar receive substantial funding while his own Shivajinagar-Govandi assembly constituency receives minimal allocations. This disparity in resource distribution affects the party’s ability to deliver services to constituents and strengthens arguments for independent political action.
Azmi also launched sharp attacks against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray, accusing the party of insulting North Indians. He warned that any political party aligning with MNS would face electoral losses, positioning SP as a defender of migrants and working-class communities, who form a significant demographic in Mumbai. This stance differentiates SP from other opposition parties that might consider tactical alliances with MNS for electoral gains.
The SP leader further criticised the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, citing specific examples where citizens who voted during the Lok Sabha elections found their names removed after the revision. Azmi agreed with Congress’s allegations regarding vote manipulation and electronic voting machine tampering, though this shared concern wasn’t sufficient to maintain the alliance, given deeper grievances about treatment within the coalition.
Future Electoral Landscape
Future Electoral LandscapeThe development where SP quits MVA fundamentally reshapes Maharashtra’s local body election landscape. The BMC elections, which haven’t been held since 2017, represent crucial political battlegrounds with India’s richest municipal corporation at stake. In the 2017 elections, undivided Shiv Sena won 84 seats while BJP secured 82, with Congress getting 31 and undivided NCP winning 13 seats. The current fragmented political scenario with multiple Shiv Sena and NCP factions makes predictions extremely challenging.
Local body elections for 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats are scheduled for December 2, 2025, with counting on December 3. However, dates for 29 municipal corporations in including BMC, haven’t been announced yet, though elections are expected by January 2026 following Supreme Court directives mandating completion before January 31, 2026. These deadlines add urgency to candidate selection and campaign preparations across all parties.
The reality that SP quits MVA might encourage other smaller parties to reconsider their alliance strategies, potentially leading to further fragmentation or unexpected realignments. Political observers suggest that the opposition’s inability to maintain unity despite their combined performance in the K Sabha elections demonstrates deeper structural issues that extend beyond mere seat-sharing disagreements. The coming months will determine whether independence serves SP better than coalition politics or whether this decision ultimately benefits the ruling alliance by dividing secular votes across multiple candidates in crucial constituencies.
