Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance has announced that it will install its mayors in the Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar and Thane municipal corporations after securing what it described as a clear and decisive public mandate in the recently concluded civic elections. Alliance leaders said the coalition has achieved working majorities in all three corporations, even as political calculations and realignments continue in the post-election phase.
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan said on Wednesday that voters had given the Mahayuti a strong mandate to govern these key urban local bodies. He emphasised that the election results reflected public confidence in the ruling alliance’s leadership and governance model at the municipal level.
In the Kalyan–Dombivli Municipal Corporation, the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde emerged as the single largest party with 54 seats. The BJP followed closely with 50 seats, giving the Mahayuti partners a comfortable and stable majority in the civic body, sufficient to control key positions including the mayor’s post.
A similar picture emerged in the Thane Municipal Corporation, where the Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured a commanding 75 seats, while its ally the BJP won 28. Together, the alliance comfortably crossed the majority threshold of 66 seats in the 131-member house, strengthening its grip over one of Maharashtra’s most politically significant municipal corporations.
In Ulhasnagar, the 78-member corporation also tilted decisively in favour of the Mahayuti. The BJP won 37 seats and the Shiv Sena secured 36, bringing the alliance close to an outright majority. The coalition further strengthened its position with the backing of two corporators from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, ensuring control of the civic body.
Ravindra Chavan said that while the alliance’s numerical strength is clear, the final call on who will occupy the mayoral posts in the three corporations will be taken after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis returns from the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He added that a joint meeting will then be held in Mumbai involving Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde to formally decide the mayoral appointments.
The BJP leader also revealed that he and Shinde had already held detailed discussions on the issue of mayoral posts last week, indicating that the leadership transition in the civic bodies is largely a matter of timing rather than uncertainty.
The municipal poll results have also reshaped the opposition space. In Kalyan-Dombivli, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won 11 seats, while the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) secured two and one seats respectively. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena suffered a setback as its corporators chose to extend support to the Mahayuti, further consolidating the ruling alliance’s dominance in these civic bodies.
