Mumbai, Nov. 29 -- Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde may now find it harder to take the ideological high ground against Uddhav Thackeray, with his party leaders forging alliances with the Congress in at least two local bodies ahead of the upcoming polls. Shinde's photo has also appeared alongside senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on campaign posters for municipal council elections in Dharashiv and Jalgaon. In 2022, Shinde orchestrated a split in the Shiv Sena, with support from 39 other MLAs, over party chief Thackeray's decision to form a coalition government with the Congress. The rebellion led to the toppling of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and the formation of a new state government with Shinde as chief minister, with the BJP's support. Since then, Shinde has repeatedly accused Thackeray of "compromising" Bal Thackeray's Hindutva legacy, insisting that his faction represents the "real" Shiv Sena. That narrative has been complicated by hyper-local political equations ahead of the upcoming local body polls. Across Maharashtra, parties in both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition MVA are joining forces to protect their political interests. In Dharashiv and Jalgaon, these equations have also led to a Shiv Sena-Congress tie-up. In the Omerga municipal council in Dharashiv district, local Shiv Sena leader and former MP Ravindra Gaikwad has forged an alliance with the Congress, as his son, Kiran Gaikwad, is contesting for council president against BJP candidate Harshwardhan Chalukya. Posters announcing a joint front of the Shiv Sena, Congress, and smaller parties like Lahuji Shakti Sena and Rayat Kranti, have been seen in the town, featuring photos of Shinde, Ravindra Gaikwad, Bal Thackeray, Shinde's mentor Anand Dighe, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, among others. A similar alliance has taken shape in Chopda in Jalgaon district, where Shiv Sena MLA Chandrakant Sonawane has joined hands with the Congress. Sonawane defended his decision, saying the BJP had ditched the Shiv Sena for the local body elections. "In politics, one has to protect the political interests of the party and ensure that it maintains its influence. That's why we joined hands with the Congress," he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve slammed the developments as hypocrisy. Sharing the campaign poster with Shinde and the Gandhis on X, he wrote: "They left the party opposing an alliance with the Congress... Now, Eknath Shinde, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are on the same poster.In short, out of fear of their masters in Delhi, 'Balasaheb's ideology' has been hung up to dry on a peg." Shinde's faction downplayed the criticism, saying that these were just local-level alliances for the upcoming polls and not a decision taken by the party. Shiv Sena MP Sandipan Bhumre said that Danve should focus on his party's performance instead of sharing such local issues on social media. "Ambadas Danve has no authority to question deputy chief minister Shinde. He should worry about how many seats his party would win in the local body polls," said Bhumre. Congress leader Sachin Sawant also said that local leaders were responsible for the alliance with the Shiv Sena in Omerga and Chopda. "In local body polls, many times, local leaders participate in city-level, all-party alliances. Local leaders of the party took the decision of the alliance on their level, and the state Congress unit had no knowledge of this," he said....