The Ulhasnagar civic row has spread to Kalyan-Dombivli, with leaders of the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena trading allegations after a dispute over nominated corporator appointments escalated into a wider confrontation between the alliance partners.
The latest exchange followed remarks by Shiv Sena functionary Kamlesh Nikam against BJP state president Ravindra Chavan. Gopal Landge, the Shiv Sena’s Kalyan district chief, defended Nikam’s comments and said they were supported by evidence. Landge also accused the BJP of blaming the Shiv Sena for setbacks in the selection process for nominated corporators in Ulhasnagar.
Landge claimed that BJP candidates had been disqualified and that the party had failed to field eligible candidates, but was holding the Shiv Sena responsible for the outcome. The claim was made in the context of the ongoing dispute over seats allocated to the BJP under the nominated corporator process. The supplied report does not include an independent response from the BJP on the specific allegations concerning candidate eligibility.
Landge also defended Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde, saying he had followed the principles of the alliance and that BJP leaders’ statements against him were unjustified. “Dr Shrikant Shinde has always followed the yuti dharma (alliance principles). The statements being made by BJP leaders against him are wrong,” Landge said.
He further claimed that Shinde had undertaken more development work as an MP than some leaders who had served as ministers and legislators. Landge said the MP had not discriminated against elected representatives while allocating development funds and had supported development works for all representatives. The report does not provide figures for the projects or funds referred to in the statement.
BJP leaders in Kalyan-Dombivli responded sharply. Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation House leader Varun Patil said Shiv Sena functionaries had no standing to comment on the state BJP president. “Shiv Sena functionaries are not qualified to comment on our leaders,” Patil said.
BJP group leader in the KDMC, Shashikant Kamble, criticised Landge’s intervention and said leaders should not have become involved in what he described as a petty issue. “We did not expect mature leaders like Gopal Landge to get involved in such petty issues. Everyone knows Ravindra Chavan’s political stature,” Kamble said.
The dispute originated in Ulhasnagar, where Shiv Sena mayor Ashwini Nikam announced Shiv Sena candidates for seats that fell under the BJP’s quota of nominated corporators. The BJP subsequently approached the Bombay High Court, which stayed further proceedings related to the appointments.
The court matter is scheduled for its next hearing on October 12. Until then, the appointments remain tied to a judicial process, while the political dispute has expanded beyond Ulhasnagar into Kalyan-Dombivli’s municipal arena. The next hearing and the response of the senior leadership of both parties will determine the immediate direction of the dispute.
