The repercussions of the split in the BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance after the Maharashtra polls were felt in the Aurangabad civic body, which is being ruled by the two estranged allies, with BJP's Deputy Mayor of the city, Vijay Autade, resigning from his post on Friday.
Autade made the announcement about his resignation during the general body meeting of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), accusing the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of stalling a water supply scheme in the city, which was sanctioned by former CM Devendra Fadnavis.
As soon the general body meeting began this afternoon, Autade, who was sitting on the dais next to Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele, came down and sat with his party corporators.
When the mayor told him that his act was not as per the protocol, Autade said he did so as he was against the Thackeray government's decision to put a stay on the water supply scheme sanctioned for the city.
He also announced in the House that he would resign from the post.
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Talking to PTI later, Autade said, "Shiv Sena and BJP contested the Aurangabad civic polls in alliance in 2015. The city will go to polls in April 2020...The projects which were sanctioned for the welfare of the city during the tenure of former CM Devendra Fadnavis have now been brought to a halt."
"Fadnavis had sanctioned the water supply scheme worth Rs 1,680 crore for the city, which has been stayed by the state government. Such an important project was stopped and that is why I resigned," he said.
"Since I am with citizens, I resigned from my post. The decision about the alliance (in AMC) will be taken by the party leadership," he added.
"Shiv Sena leadership in the civic body and at the state level met CM Uddhav Thackeray, but the stay over the water supply scheme was not lifted. As my moral responsibility, I left the dais and came down to sit," he said.
Autade also claimed that the mayor demanded his resignation in the House for his act of leaving the dais and sitting with the corporators.
However, the mayor, who is a Shiv Sena corporator, claimed that he did not demand Autade's resignation.
"None of the city projects have been stalled. Autade's allegation is baseless and whatever happened in the House was planned. I had asked Autade to return to the dais," Ghodele said.
The mayor added that if even if BJP breaks the alliance, the Sena was strong enough to run the civic body.
The BJP and Sena, which fought the Assembly polls in alliance, had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly. However, the state witnessed a political crisis after the Sena broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister's post.
Finally, the Sena, NCP and Congress came together to form a government headed by Uddhav Thackeray, who took oath as CM on November 28.
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