MUMBAI/THANE, Jan. 26 -- After discussions that lasted more than a week, the Congress, NCP (SP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) will together stake their claim to power in the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) by forging the Bhiwandi Secular Front. A consensus had eluded political parties in the township, ten days after results were declared in elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state. But there's already a twist in the tale - differences between senior SP leaders could derail the fledgling front, handing rivals an opening. The idea of a front emerged after the Congress (30 seats), NCP-SP (12 seats) and Samajwadi Party (6 seats) decided to make a joint bid for power, with the mayoral post going to the Congress in the 90-member house. With 46 corporators needed for a majority, the Bhiwandi Secular Front has 48. On Saturday, SP MLA Rais Shaikh, who represents the Bhiwandi East assembly constituency, posted a video online, in which he and local leaders of the Congress and NCP (SP) announced the Bhiwandi Secular Front. They also announced that the mayor would be elected from the Congress. Shaikh said, "The people of Bhiwandi gave their mandate in favour of secularism, following which we have formed the Bhiwandi Secular Front. We will form our mayor. This has been done to ensure there won't be any horse trading (of corporators) in Bhiwandi." Here's where the plot thickens. Old enmities have surfaced within the SP, pitting Rais Shaikh against the party's state president Abu Asim Azmi. The latter's son, Farhan, claimed that all the six SP corporators were not prepared to be part of "this bogus secular front". "Samajwadi Party candidates were literally handed over to the Congress and now credit for victory in the corporation is being given to them," Azmi told Hindustan Times. He also said they were open to extending support to the three-party front if the SP was given the mayoral position. While Abu Azmi had authorised Rais Shaikh to hold discussions with other parties on behalf of the SP, Farhan alleges that Shaikh is working in the interests of the Congress. While Shaikh said he would not comment on Farhan Azmi's stand, Abu Azmi was not available for comment. Differences have surfaced between Abu Azmi and Shaikh, a two-time MLA, who had challenged Azmi's leadership in the state. On December 25, 2025, he had written to SP national president Akhilesh Yadav, alleging that Azmi was running the party like a "private limited company" and sought the leadership's intervention to "save" the party in the state. Azmi had indicated disciplinary action against Shaikh but after the municipal corporation election results, he had authorized Shaikh to hold discussions for an alliance on behalf of the party in Bhiwandi. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the mayor will be elected from among its ranks. According to Ravikant Sawant, BJP's Bhiwandi president, the BJP has decided to form an alliance with the Shiv Sena. "With BJP's 22 seats, Sena's 12 seats, and the support of one independent, we have 35 corporators and are hopeful of securing support from other independent corporators as well," he said. However, only one independent corporator was elected from the civic body, as per results declared by the poll body....