While the results of 29 Maharashtra Municipal Corporations were declared on January 16, few outcomes have generated as much political churn as the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) - eclipsing even BMC in terms of post-poll drama.
The real contest in KDMC was not between the ruling alliance and the opposition, but within the ruling ecosystem itself: between the Shiv Sena led by Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde and its ally, led by BJP state chief, Ravindra Chavan. Statewide opposition parties largely remained on the fringes, yet their numbers have now become crucial in deciding power.
KDMC, with a strength of 122 corporators, delivered a fractured verdict. The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) emerged marginally ahead with 53 seats, while the BJP was close behind at 50. Neither side crossed the halfway mark of 61, instantly turning the spotlight to the 'others'.
The first political shock came when Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raju Patil chose to register his group of five corporators with the Shiv Sena instead of the BJP or the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction. This move took the Shinde Sena's tally to 58 - still three short of a majority, but firmly ahead in the race.
What followed was a familiar political tactic often associated with the Shinde camp: strategic poaching. Earlier on Thursday, UBT's KDMC district chief Sharad Patil approached the police, filing a missing complaint for two of the party's corporators. Sources later confirmed that the two were in touch with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Interestingly, of the 11 UBT corporators, two are reported to be "not reachable", two others, Swapnali Kene and Rahul Kot, are said to be in contact with the MNS, an ally of the UBT faction. Sharad Patil clarified that the police complaint was filed only against the two corporators allegedly associated with the Shinde Sena.
The numbers game has since tilted further.
Shrikant Shinde, MP from Kalyan and son of Eknath Shinde, is believed to have struck deals with one corporator from the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and two from the Congress, pushing the Shinde Sena-led grouping to a comfortable 65, well past the majority mark. The BJP, meanwhile, remains stuck at 50.
Even the remaining UBT corporators appear uneasy. Sources indicate that seven corporators still formally with the Thackeray camp are also in touch with the Shinde faction. If these numbers materialise, the Shinde-led alliance could touch 72 corporators, leaving the BJP isolated despite being a key ruling partner at the state level.
The post-poll equations in KDMC have thus thrown up an unexpected narrative: Shrikant Shinde, representing the second generation of the Shinde family, has emerged as a formidable political operator, one capable of outmanoeuvring the BJP's otherwise formidable electoral machinery.
In Kalyan-Dombivli, the battle may have ended at the ballot, but the real fight for power has only just begun.
