Since the results of the Maharashtra civic elections were declared 11 days ago, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has been dialing phones, writing emails and making house calls. Desperate, he finally went to the police and put up missing signs.
So far, it has not found the four newly elected members of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), which the Sena (UBT) is seeking, in a continuation of the blatant tug-of-war by the state’s civic bodies.
The 122-member KDMC election was the second most-watched municipal race after Bombayand with no clear majority for any party, the fight for its control, including the mayor’s post, continues, making Madhur Mhatre, Kirti Dhone, Swapnali Kene and Rahul Kot, all new corporators, the most valuable in the KDMC.
While the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is the largest party in the corporation with 53 members, the BJP has 50. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won five wards, and the Sena (UBT) 11, including the four wards whose corporators are now “defunct”.
Sena (UBT) leaders claim that the four corporators are in touch with Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which has shifted them to an undisclosed location.
The Shinde Sena already has the support of the five MNS corporators, and four more from the Sena (UBT) would take its tally to a majority of 62 in the 122-member house.
While the BJP is excluded from the mayoral race as the seat is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes category in this term, and the party does not have an eligible corporator, control of the KDMC would be a big boost for the Shinde Sena in its one-upmanship battle against its ally BJP.
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Of late, the Kalyan-Dombivli region has also become a political battleground between Shinde and BJP Maharashtra president Ravindra Chavan. While the Deputy Chief Minister has traditionally enjoyed influence in the region and his son Shrikant Shinde is the Lok Sabha MP from Kalyan, Chavan hails from Dombivli.
A lead in the KDMC would also be a good bargaining chip at a time when the Mumbai mayor’s post is still up for grabs.
The Sena (UBT) is worried that in this power game its corporations have become pawns. Of the four, Mhatre and Dhone were earlier associated with the Shinde Sena but contested the KDMC elections on the UBT ticket after failing to get nominations on their ticket. Mhatre defeated former deputy mayor Vicky Tare from ward 21 in Kalyan East, while Dhone won from ward 13 A in Kalyan East.
Kot, who won from Ward 4 in Dombivli, and Swapnali Kene, the winner of Ward 6 in Kalyan West, are said to have started in the MNS.
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UBT Kalyan East district chief Sharad Patil, who lodged a complaint at Kolsewadi police station about the “missing” corporators, urged the police to trace them using CCTV, call data records and mobile tower locations. A senior police officer said the matter is being investigated.
Alleging that “incentives” were being offered to corporators, Patil said, “They (the four) got tickets from us, contested our symbol and won because people voted for the Sena (UBT). Now suddenly they have become untraceable. This is a betrayal to the people of Kalyan.”
Claiming that the Shinde Sena is trying to drive more corporators away from the UBT, Patil said, “I myself have received calls… They will ensure that we are not disqualified even if the anti-defection law is implemented.” However, he said, the party will begin a disqualification process against anyone who crosses.
Patil added that his calls, emails and attempts to reach the four through common contacts had failed. “When we went to their homes, the relatives refused to tell us their whereabouts and even reacted aggressively.”
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Meanwhile, the Sena (UBT) has formally registered its remaining seven corporators as a separate group in the KDMC.
