BJP's Sharda Khedkar Elected Akola Mayor; MIM Neutrality Foils Congress Plan

• BJP's Sharda Khedkar elected Mayor of Akola Municipal Corporation, Amol Goge as Deputy Mayor.
• Khedkar secured 45 votes, defeating Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) candidate Surekha Kale by 13 votes.
• BJP formed the government with support from NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and independents.
• MIM corporators remained neutral, leading to Congress's defeat and subsequent anger, with bangles thrown at MIM members.
• Congress accused BJP and MIM of collusion, criticizing the 'hypocritical position' of BJP aligning with MIM.

Why It Matters: BJP retained power in Akola Municipal Corporation, benefiting from MIM's neutrality, much to Congress's dismay.