Ulhasnagar: The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation elections have witnessed intense political competition, especially in Panel Number 5, where the contest has emerged as one of the most closely watched battles. Although the Mahayuti alliance includes both Shiv Sena and the BJP, the two parties are contesting the elections separately in Ulhasnagar, adding further significance to key panels across the city.In Panel 5, the BJP has fielded Meena Ailani, a two-time corporator and wife of sitting MLA Kumar Ailani. She is facing Seema Kalani, daughter of former influential leader Pappu Kalani; she is contesting from this panel for the first time, marking her electoral debut in the constituency.Over the years, Kumar Ailani has been locked in a long-standing political rivalry with the Kalani family. He has contested elections against members of the family on five occasions. In these contests, Ailani has recorded one victory and one defeat each against Pappu Kalani and his wife. In addition, during the elections held last year, Kumar Ailani also defeated Pappu Kalani’s son, Omie Kalani, once. This election marks the first time that different members from both families are directly facing each other in a municipal corporator election.Panel 5 consists of four wards and is regarded as one of Ulhasnagar’s most posh residential areas. A notable feature of this panel is that in one of the four wards, Seema Kalani is joined by Vicky Bhullar, son of senior Shiv Sena leader and five-time former corporator Bhullar Maharaj.Speaking during the campaign, Vicky Bhullar highlighted several civic issues in the panel, including water shortage, poor maintenance of gardens, and parking problems. He said if elected, the alliance would redevelop the Gol Maidan by creating an underground parking facility with a garden on top. He also proposed addressing the water crisis by constructing interconnected water tanks on the lines of Bhopal’s model, using borewell water that would be filtered and supplied to residents.Countering these claims, Meena Ailani stated the water problem in the panel has already been resolved and the area has been made tanker-free. She also said all internal roads in the panel have been converted to cement concrete roads.In this panel, the BJP has fielded Meena Ailani along with Raju Jagiasi, advocate Gunjan Sadhwani and Nand Chapru as its candidates. On the other hand, the Shiv Sena has nominated Seema Kalani, Bhullar Maharaj, Dilip Jagiasi, and Nikita Chapru as its candidates.
