Kalani family likely to rejoin BJP in Ulhasnagar

ULHASNAGAR: Will the Kalani family join hands with the BJP again in Ulhasnagar? This question has arisen in political circles because recently a meeting was held between the Kalani family and a senior BJP leader from Ulhasnagar, along with a state-level BJP leader who is said to be taking the initiative to bring Kalani and his supporters back to the BJP.

This initiative is being taken in view of the upcoming Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation elections. Some local BJP leaders hope that if Kalani joins them, as in 2017, then once again a BJP mayor can be elected. Before 2017, the BJP was never able to elect its mayor in the Municipal Corporation on its own. But in 2017, all the corporators of Omie Kalani contested the elections from the BJP and elected the BJP mayor. However, both the Kalanis and BJP's MLA Kumar Ailani, who have old enmity in the city, never got along in the BJP at the local level.

Later, when the Mahavikas Aghadi govt came into power in the state, Kalani left the BJP and joined the NCP again, and since then, the family was with Sharad Pawar.Now, a big faction in the BJP that supports Ailani seems to be upset with the speculations of the Kalani family joining the BJP again. When asked about this, BJP's Ulhasnagar District President Rajesh Vadhrya said, "I am not aware of any such development, but we will follow whatever decision the party high command takes."

The Kalani family has an important place in the politics of Ulhasnagar. Omie Kalani's father, Pappu Kalani, was an MLA four times, and his mother, the late Jyoti Kalani, was an MLA twice. Also, the family and their supporters have held the post of mayor in the Municipal Corporation many times. This family has always been associated with Sharad Pawar. However, according to the political situation, they joined the BJP, but later, when the BJP did not give an MLA ticket to former MLA Jyoti Kalani in 2019, the Kalani family left the BJP and returned to the NCP. When asked about the Kalani family joining the BJP once again, their close aide Kamlesh Nikam said that any final decision in this regard will be taken by Omi Kalani Ji, and all the party's officials will be with his decision. Amidst all this, Omie Kalani and his father, Pappu Kalani, are already seen holding meetings and discussions with the aim of increasing their power in the city in view of the elections. The Kalani family also has very good relations with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son and Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde. Even though the family is associated with the NCP (Sharad Pawar), they openly campaigned for Shrikant Shinde in the Lok Sabha election. However, local BJP leaders now believe that their party is in a stronger position than before, and Pappu Kalani's son, Omie Kalani, who lost the assembly elections this time, is no longer as powerful in the city as before.