In a significant political development in local body politics of Maharashtra, Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has extended support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena in the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC).
The support is crucial at a time when the MNC is allied with Eknath Shinde's arch-rival party, Shiv Sena (UBT), in the BMC elections and contested against it.
Uddhav Thackeray's Sena UBT, which emerged as the second-largest party, is still vying for possibilities to clinch the mayor position in BMC with the help of MNS and other non-BJP parties.
What does MNS support for Shiv Sena mean in KDMC?
In the recently concluded civic polls in KDMC, the Shiv Sena and BJP alliance secured 103 seats out of a total 122 seats, a sweeping majority.
MNS won 5 seats while Shiv Sena (UBT) won 11 seats. Congress and NCP won 2 and one seat respectively. Now, former MNS MLA Pramod Raju Patil has announced the party's support for the Shiv Sena on behalf of its five corporators. He stated that the decision was made with the city's development in mind. Earlier, all 53 Shiv Sena corporators arrived at the Konkan Divisional Commissioner's office in Navi Mumbai, where they formally registered their faction.
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With the support of five corporators, Shiv Sena's tally stands at 58, short of a clear majority by 4. According to the sources cited by a Jagran.com report, some of the 11 UBT corporators are also in contact with the Shinde factions. If UBT corporators defect, Shinde could end up making the local body government on his own.
Kalyan Lok Sabha MP and Eknath Shinde's son, Shrikant Shinde, has confirmed the MNC support to his party, saying the MNS has supported the Shiv Sena with the city's development in mind.
BJP's two-and-a-half-year mayor formula
He also clarified that the Shiv Sena and BJP contested the municipal elections together under the Mahayuti (grand alliance). Shrikant Shinde stated that the KDMC mayor will be elected from the Mahayuti (grand alliance). However, the final decision regarding the mayoral position will be made jointly by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP state president Ravindra Chavan.
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With the BJP demanding two-and-a-half-year terms for the mayor, political analysts believe the Shiv Sena is attempting to form a government on its own or strengthen its position within a coalition. The picture of KDMC's power structure is expected to become clearer in the coming days.