Mumbai (PTI): The Congress on Wednesday suspended from the party 12 newly-elected councillors in Maharashtra's Ambernath Municipal Council along with its block president for forging an alliance with the BJP after last month's civic polls.
The BJP forged a post-poll understanding with the Congress and Ajit Pawar's NCP in Ambernath town in Thane district, securing a majority of 31 seats, even though the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is the single largest party with 27 members.
After a row over a tie-up between rival parties BJP and Congress, the latter took action against the party cadre.
The Congress suspended its Ambernath block president Pradip Patil. In a letter, the Maharashtra unit of the party also informed him that its block unit has been dissolved.
All the councillors, who were elected on the Congress symbol, were suspended from the party, the letter said, adding that the decision to align with the BJP in the local body was taken without informing the party's state leadership.
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Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, "Several councillors, including independents, formed the Ambernath Development Front (Ambernath Vikas Aghadi) by setting aside party symbols and affiliations to oppose the alleged corruption of Shiv Sena at the local level."
"There is no formal alliance between Congress and BJP. But the front was formed without permission and hence show-cause notices were issued," he added.
Twelve newly-elected councillors from the Congress, 14 from the BJP, four from the NCP and one independent came together to form the local front following a meeting at the local BJP office on December 31, and a letter was given to the Thane district collector, informing about the development.
In the December 20 polls to the 60-member council, Shiv Sena won 27 seats, falling just four short of a majority. The BJP secured 14 seats, Congress 12, NCP 4, while 2 independents were also elected.
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
