A decisive political shift has taken place in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), altering the balance of power and bringing the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena within striking distance of taking full control of the civic body. Two corporators elected on the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) symbol have extended their support to the Shiv Sena, giving the party a clear numerical edge and ending weeks of uncertainty over the formation of the municipal administration.
In the recently concluded municipal elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the largest single party after contesting on its own and winning 37 seats. However, it failed to cross the majority threshold. The Shiv Sena followed closely with 36 seats and soon strengthened its position by securing the backing of one corporator from its local ally, the Sai Party, and one independent corporator. This support pushed the Sena’s strength to 38.
The latest endorsement from two VBA corporators has now taken the Shiv Sena well past the majority mark, making its claim to leadership in the Ulhasnagar civic body virtually unchallengeable. With the numbers firmly in its favour, the party is now seen as the frontrunner for the mayor’s post.
The two VBA corporators, Surekha Sonawane and Vikas Kharat, formally conveyed their decision to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at a meeting held at his Mumbai residence. Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde was also present during the interaction. According to the corporators, their decision was guided by development priorities in their respective wards rather than political compulsions.
They said aligning with the Shiv Sena would help speed up pending civic works, particularly projects related to Dalit settlement improvement schemes, basic infrastructure, and local development initiatives that require administrative backing and financial approvals.
With the political arithmetic now clearly favouring the Shinde-led Sena, the process of forming a new governing body in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation is expected to move quickly in the coming days.
The Ulhasnagar contest is part of a much larger civic exercise across Maharashtra. Elections to 29 municipal corporations were held on January 15, with vote counting completed on July 16. For these elections, over 39,000 polling booths were set up across the state to elect representatives to 2,869 seats. Nearly 3.49 crore voters were eligible to participate.
Major civic bodies that went to polls included Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai, Vasai–Virar, Mira-Bhayandar, Panvel, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, and several others, making these elections a crucial test of political strength at the grassroots level in Maharashtra.
