18 nominations filed for 10 ward committee chairperson posts in Kalyan-Dombivli

The election process for the chairperson posts of the 10 ward committees of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation has begun. A total of 18 candidates have filed nomination papers for the 10 posts, which means there are more applications than posts.

The Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are in an alliance in Kalyan-Dombivli. Surprise is nonetheless being expressed in political circles because candidates of different parties have filed papers in some wards.

In four of the 10 wards, only one candidate each, from the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), has filed nomination papers. As things stand, the chairperson may therefore be elected unopposed in these four wards.

In the remaining six wards, however, candidates of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP, the MNS, the Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) have filed papers. The contest is therefore likely to be more intense there. In wards where the BJP has greater numerical strength, it has filed nominations for the chairperson post.

This has raised the question whether there are differences among the allies over seat-sharing in the alliance and the choice of chairpersons. It will be important to see whether the alliance leaders coordinate among themselves before the election, or whether candidates of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP and the MNS end up facing each other.

A political conflict has begun between the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the BJP in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation. Its echoes now appear to be reaching the politics of Kalyan-Dombivli as well.

Curiosity has arisen over whether the nominations filed separately by the alliance partners for the ward committee chairperson posts are merely part of local political equations or a sign of internal differences in the alliance. There is also interest in whether the alliance leaders will settle the dispute before the coming elections, and what happens next.

In brief, 18 applications have come in for 10 posts. Four wards have a single application each, from the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), while in six wards candidates of several parties are preparing to enter the contest.

The next political picture will become clear after scrutiny of the nominations, the withdrawal process and which candidates remain in the fray at the time of the actual election. All political parties are therefore watching the ward committee chairperson election in Kalyan-Dombivli closely.