The lottery for mayoral post reservation has come as a setback for the BJP, as the mayor’s post in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has been reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category
DCM Eknath Shinde (left) and CM Devendra Fadnavis during an election rally in Worli prior to the BMC polls. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
In a cold war between the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kalyan-Dombivli, the first round has gone in favour of the Shinde camp. The lottery for mayoral post reservation has come as a setback for the BJP, as the mayor’s post in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has been reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
It may be recalled that during seat-sharing talks for the civic elections, relations between the BJP and the Shiv Sena turned so bitter that senior leaders had to step in. The crisis was defused only after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Shinde personally intervened and sealed the alliance. However, the Shinde-led Sena does not share a cordial relationship with state BJP president Ravindra Chavan, who hails from Dombivli, adding another layer of tension to the local power struggle.
No wonder that despite the BJP and the Shiv Sena winning 50 and 53 seats, respectively, in the municipal corporation that has a total strength of 122 corporators, the Shinde Sena camp went ahead and stitched together additional support. It roped in the backing of five corporators from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and four from the Shiv Sena (UBT), a total of 11 elected candidates, clearly signalling its intent to assert dominance and strengthen its claim over the mayor’s post, an office the BJP is keenly eyeing.
However, with the mayor’s post in the KDMC reserved for the ST category, the BJP has little option but to give up its hopes. The party does not have a single elected corporator from the reserved category. In contrast, its ally, the Shiv Sena, has two corporators from the ST category, while the MNS, led by Raj Thackeray, has one, clearly tilting the advantage away from the BJP in the race for the mayor’s post.
A leader from the BJP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that before the reservation draw, the party was hopeful of getting the mayor’s post. “As per the reservation announced for the mayor of the KDMC, the post has gone to the Scheduled Tribe category, and the BJP does not have a corporator from this category. Now the picture is clear; the Shiv Sena will have its mayor,” the leader said.
Women to rule 15 state civic bodies
Out of the total 29 corporations in the state, 15 will have women mayors. This list includes the prestigious BMC, where the top civic post will also be held by a woman. The other corporations that will have women mayors are Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Jalna, Ahilyanagar, Akola, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Chhatrapatti Sambhaji Nagar, Dule, Amravat, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Nagpur, Latur, and Nanded.
What is the mayoral lottery?
The Urban Development Department conducts the procedure of mayoral lottery that decides whether the mayor’s post will be open (general), or if it is open (women); in that case, only women candidates can be mayor. Other reservation categories include OBC (open), OBC (women), SC (open), SC (women), ST (open), and ST (women).
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