India, Oct. 24 -- The resistance within the Congress to joining hands with the Thackeray cousins for the BMC polls is growing more strident. In the latest instance, former Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap declared that the party should contest the polls alone not only in Mumbai but in other cities as well.

"We should go solo," he said. "This is not my stand alone. Several others are of the same opinion, and this was conveyed during the political affairs committee meeting of the party on October 13. This is because these are local body polls, which are meant for grassroots workers. They should get an opportunity to contest, and so we should not have an alliance with Uddhav Thackeray, let alone Raj Thackeray."

A senior Congress leade...