Maharashtra Civic Polls: No clear majority in Ulhasnagar; BJP tops tally, Shiv Sena alliance close behind

ULHASNAGAR: An extremely interesting and closely fought contest unfolded in Ulhasnagar between the two key Mahayuti allies—the BJP and the Shiv Sena—turning the civic election into a high-stakes political battle.In the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), the BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 37 of the 78 seats. The Shiv Sena, which contested the elections separately in alliance with the local Team Omie Kalani (TOK), the SAI Party, the Republican Party of India (RPI), and with support from some independents, put up a tough fight and secured a total of 38 seats (36 Shiv Sena+ 2). Apart from these two major players, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) won 2 seats, while the Congress managed to secure 1 seat.

With the majority mark set at 40 seats, no party has been able to cross the halfway line, leaving the question of who will form the ruling body wide open.UMC was once dominated by the influence of Pappu Kalani. Over the past few years, power in the civic body was shared by the Shiv Sena, BJP, and the local SAI Party. Subsequently, the BJP even enjoyed power independently for two-and-a-half years with the support of the Kalani faction.

However, this time, with Ulhasnagar falling under the Lok Sabha constituency represented by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a different strategy was adopted.Determined to keep the BJP out of power in the municipal corporation, Shrikant Shinde forged an alliance with TOK, the RPI, and the SAI Party. Despite these efforts and the presence of influential local leaders such as Pappu Kalani, his son Omie Kalani, and SAI Party leader Jeevan Idnani— in Ulhasnagar politics—the Shiv Sena-led alliance could manage only 36 seats on its own.

With its two allies winning two additional seats, the alliance’s tally reached 38, still falling short of the majority by two seats.On the other hand, the BJP found itself in a challenging position as senior party leaders were largely focused on Mumbai. Local BJP leaders, including MLA Kumar Ailani, Ulhasnagar district president Rajesh Vadhrya, and election in-charge Pradeep Ramchandani, had waited until the last moment in the hope of a alliance with the Shiv Sena.

When no alliance proposal came from the Shiv Sena, the BJP took a decision to contest all 78 seats on its own for the first time in Ulhasnagar.Relying largely on local leadership, a mix of experienced faces and new, educated, and young candidates—and barring a single rally by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis—the BJP fought the election without the backing of major star campaigners. This strategy paid off, as the party emerged as the single largest party in the corporation.In the previous election in 2017, with the support of the Kalani group, 32 BJP corporators were elected; however, out of those, only around 15 were actually from the BJP itself.Meanwhile, despite Shrikant Shinde’s direct involvement in the campaign and a rally by the Deputy Chief Minister, the Shiv Sena fell short of the magic number. Reacting to the BJP’s performance, District BJP President Rajesh Vadhrya said the party gave opportunities to both experienced leaders and new, educated youth. He added that under the guidance of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan, the party fought the election effectively and achieved a significant victory.