THANE/NAVI MUMBAI: The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance’s decisive local election victory on Sunday reinforced its political dominance in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) after the 2024 assembly elections.BJP trumped deputy CM Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena in its bastions of Ambernath and Badlapur in Thane district by wresting control of the municipal council president posts. BJP’s Tejashree Karanjule Patil defeated exmunicipal council president Manisha Walekar of Sena by a margin of more than 6,000 votes. BJP candidate Pawan Walekar, whose office was targeted in a firing incident three days before Ambernath went to polls, defeated his cousin, Nikhil, an ex-corporator and the son of Shiv Sena city president Arvind Walekar.
Although Sena improved its tally to 27 seats from 24 in 2015, the loss of the directly elected president’s post has effectively shifted control of the council to BJP. According to political observers, Sena’s defeat in Ambernath, which is represented by Shinde’s MP son Shrikant Shinde, was due to deep-rooted factionalism within the party and Congress cutting into its traditional vote base in key pockets.Congress showed improved performance in Ambernath, increasing its seat count from eight in 2015 to 12 seats under the leadership of city president Pradeep Patil. NCP (SP) snatched Uran and neighbouring Karjat from the Mahayuti, dealing a blow to BJP MLA Mahesh Baladi in Uran and Sena MLA Mahendra Thorve in Karjat.In Palghar district, Sena secured the municipal council president posts in Palghar and Dahanu, while BJP captured Jawhar municipal council and Wada nagar panchayat. In Dahanu, Shiv Sena candidate Rajendra Machhi defeated BJP’s Bharat Rajput by 4,055 votes.In Badlapur, BJP’s Ruchita Ghorpade secured a decisive victory in the direct presidential election, defeating Shiv Sena leader Waman Mhatre’s wife Veena by a margin of over 7,000 votes. The result was seen as a prestige battle, especially as Sena contested the election on its own,while BJP fought in alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. While both BJP and Shiv Sena won 23 seats each in the 49member council, BJP’s capture of the president’s post has tilted the balance of power in its favour.
