Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan on Thursday announced that the mayors of Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar and Thane municipal corporations will be from the Mahayuti alliance. He said a formal decision will be taken after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis returns from Davos after attending the World Economic Forum.
Chavan also said that Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis will hold their first meeting after the corporation polls in Bombay after January 24.
Chavan downplayed differences between Mahayuti alliance partners the Shiv Sena and the BJP, which had led to a game of one-upmanship in the civic polls. “There is no dispute. All I can say for sure is that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance will come together and resolve the issues. In Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Thane, the mayor will be from Mahayuti.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Shiv Sena claimed support from opposition corporators Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena (UBT). The Shiv Sena’s decision to seek support from rival parties was a strategic move to assert its political clout against its alliance partner, the BJP. The Shiv Sena aims to gain advantage in all three civic bodies.
Thane Municipal Corporation is important to Shiv Sena as it is Shinde’s territory and political stronghold. The party has won 75 of the 131 seats, while the BJP is far behind with 28 seats.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation election has returned a fractured verdict. In the 122-member corporation, the Shiv Sena won 53 seats, far ahead of the BJP, which won 51. The majority mark is 62, making post-poll support crucial.
Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde represents Lok Sabha from Kalyan-Dombivli constituency, so it is important that the Shiv Sena retains control of the corporation.
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In Ulhasnagar, the BJP won 37 of the 78 seats, while the Shinde Sena followed with 36. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and MNS won two and one seats, respectively.
Chavan and Shinde had earlier held talks on the Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane and Ulhasnagar civic bodies. They unanimously agreed to support a Mahayuti mayor in these three corporations.