E-Paper
BJP loses Ulhasnagar mayor post to Sena
In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance partner, Secular Alliance of India (SAI), the Shiv Sena bagged the Ulhasnagar mayor’s post
In a major setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance partner, Secular Alliance of India (SAI), the Shiv Sena bagged the Ulhasnagar mayor’s post on Friday by defeating the alliance candidate.
Sena corporator Leelabai Aashan, 65, was elected as the new mayor, after securing 43 votes. She was supported by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress, Republican Party of India (RPI) and nine members of local party Team Omie Kalani (TOK). TOK leaders had fought the corporation polls on BJP’s tickets. The BJP-SAI alliance had fielded SAI party leader Jeevan Idnani, who managed to secure only 35 votes.
In the 2017 civic polls, Kalani had supported BJP, with 20 of his corporators contesting the election under the BJP tickets and winning. However, according to sources from Ulhasnagar, Kalani was disappointed with the BJP for not giving his wife Pancham a ticket to contest the recently-held Assembly elections. Kalani is also upset with the BJP for tying up with SAI, as the TOK leader and Idnani have personal differences.
“Nobody can come to power in Ulhasnagar without the support of the Kalanis. The BJP was neglecting me and I have shown them that they cannot win without my support,” Kalani told HT.
In a subtle message to the Sena, Kalani said, “I did my part by supporting the Sena, as I was betrayed by the BJP. Now it is up to the Sena to decide how to maintain this [support].”
Meanwhile, Sena leader Gopal Landge said, “We were very certain about our victory. Shiv Sena has started a new beginning by joining hands with the NCP and others, and this is evident in the Ulhasnagar mayoral election. TOK played a major role in our win.”
The BJP also lost the post of the deputy mayor, after its candidate Vijay Patil was defeated by senior RPI leader Bhagwan Bhalerao. With 44 votes, Bhalerao became Ulhasnagar’s deputy mayor, while Patil could bag only 34 votes.
