Mumbai, Dec. 29 -- In a surprise political move ahead of the BMC elections, the Congress on Sunday announced an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), ending a gap of over 25 years since their last tie-up. Under the seat-sharing formula, the Congress will contest 165 of the 227 seats, while the VBA will field candidates in 62 wards. Leaders of both parties said the alliance was forged to defend constitutional values and is expected to consolidate Dalit, Bahujan and Muslim votes. The Congress-VBA tie-up makes the BMC contest a multi-cornered battle, with two other major alliances-the BJP-Shiv Sena, and Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-also in the fray. P4...