Kalyan-Dombivli 'missing' UBT corporators: Is Sena eyeing strength vis-a-vis BJP?

While results of 29 civic elections across Maharashtra were declared on January 16, those at the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) have continued to storm the headlines, thanks to an intense political drama over alleged defection.

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On Saturday (January 24), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sharad Patil lodged a police complaint that four of his party’s elected corporators in the civic body allegedly went missing, and speculation was rife that they could change their base to the Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The complaint was lodged by local Sena (UBT) leader Sharad Patil at Koleswadi Police Station in Kalyan.

Cracks within Mahayuti in Kalyan-Dombivli

The scenario at KDMC has remained tricky post the high-stakes elections on January 15, which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti Alliance dominated because in that particular civic body, the contest became prominent between the BJP and the Sena itself, while parties opposed to the Mahayuti remained on the fringes. Now, because of the crack between the two major allies of the Mahayuti, it is these Opposition parties’ numbers that are playing a crucial role in deciding who would eventually prevail over the rest and pick the mayor.

Sena targets 61-plus to gain control

In terms of the electoral results, the KDMC saw a fractured verdict with the Sena clinching 53 out of a total of 122 seats. The BJP finished a little close behind at 50 seats. Since neither of them could cross the halfway mark of 61, the spotlight was on the others, the potential ‘kingmakers’.

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The Sena could cross the halfway mark to take control of the civic body, which it has dominated over the years, if it ensures the backing of the four 'missing' Sena (UBT) corporators besides the five from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackeray, who allied with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of the Sena (UBT), for the latest polls.

The Sena (UBT) won 11 corporators’ seats in the KDMC, but only seven formally registered as a group with the concerned authorities. One report cited party sources to say that two of those were in touch with the Sena, while the other two were reportedly untraceable. The report also said that the duo are believed to be keen to return to the MNS as they contested the election on the symbol of the Sena (UBT) due to local political strategising.

According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the four allegedly missing corporators are Madhur Mhatre, Kirti Dhone, Rahul Kot and Swapnil Kene. However, a senior police officer in Thane was quoted by the publication as saying that no missing persons case had been filed, as there was no sign of forcing people. It was believed that those corporators had acted on their own free will.

Ranjay Raut calls 'missing' corporators 'traitors'

Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut expressed his anger over the issue, saying his party filed the police complaint over the 'missing' corporators and called them “traitors” who took a different course just hours after their win in the civic polls.

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The party was also disappointed that the MNS supported the Eknath-led Sena but a leader of the MNS told the Sena (UBT) that if had not it backed Eknath's Sena, its corporators would have switched sides. MNS leader Raju Patil already registered his party’s five corporators with the Sena in KDMC a few days after the polls, taking the Eknath-led faction’s tally to 58.

Eknath remarked after gaining the MNS’s backing that Raj supported his party for development, praising him for always eyeing the larger interest than narrow personal gain.

Sena eyeing corporators from other parties too?

However, the process, which many political analysts have called a ‘strategic poaching’, has not ended. According to an NDTV report, Shrikant Shinde, MP from Kalyan and son of Eknath, has struck deals with corporators from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Congress, in a bid to ensure that the Sena reaches a comfortable tally of 65 and outfoxes the BJP, which has also eyed the mayor’s post.

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Even the rest seven Sena (UBT) corporators might not be secure, as sources indicate that they were also in touch with the Sena. If the speculation of them joining the Sena also materialises, then it would completely overshadow the saffron ally-cum-rival.

Rise of Shrikant Shinde

The KDMC episode has seen the rise of Shrikant as a prominent political operator, who could throw a challenge to the Mahayuti ally, the BJP, in the future.

Observers think that while the KDMC may look like a one-off turf battle between the Sena and BJP over who gains the power, the Sena is perhaps seeking to strengthen its bargaining power vis-a-vis the BJP within the Mahayuti through such battles, a Times of India report said.