The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that its alliance with the Shiv Sena has ended in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, citing a dispute over the selection of nominated councillors and deciding to withdraw from the civic administration. The party’s 37 councillors and office-bearers have also announced that they will not campaign for Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Dr Shrikant Shinde in the upcoming election, according to a report by Loksatta.
The announcement follows a meeting attended by Ulhasnagar MLA Kumar Ailani, all 37 BJP councillors and senior party functionaries. The meeting ended with what the party described as a unanimous decision to leave the municipal administration. The move brings an open rupture between the BJP and Shiv Sena into a municipal corporation located in Thane district, where Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has his political base.
The immediate dispute concerns the recent selection of nominated councillors in the municipal corporation. According to the report, the BJP had expected four positions. However, Shiv Sena mayor Ashwini Nikam announced the names of only two BJP councillors. The Shiv Sena, which was reported to have a share of three positions, selected five of its own nominated councillors.
The BJP has described the decision as a breach of the understanding between the alliance partners. The party’s local leadership said the move followed what it characterised as repeated efforts to restrict the BJP within the corporation. The dispute over nominated positions has therefore moved beyond an internal allocation disagreement and has now affected the composition of the municipal ruling arrangement.
At the meeting, BJP representatives also raised the question of whether party workers would support Shrikant Shinde in the next Lok Sabha election. The councillors reportedly raised their hands and announced that they would not work for his campaign. The decision represents a public challenge to the working relationship between the two parties in the Kalyan parliamentary constituency.
The report does not provide details of any formal response from the Shiv Sena to the BJP’s announcement, nor does it establish how the change will affect the municipal corporation’s day-to-day administration. The immediate next step is the BJP’s withdrawal from the civic ruling arrangement, following the party meeting in which the decision was announced.
