Maharashtra: Uddhav Sena files police complaint, puts up posters as four corporators go ‘missing’

Days after the municipal elections in Maharashtra, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena has filed a police complaint and put up “missing” posters as four of its newly elected Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation members were untraceable, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Uddhav Sena leaders have alleged that the four corporators – Madhur Mhatre, Kirti Dhone, Swapnali Kene and Rahul Kot – were in contact with the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, which has moved them to an undisclosed location.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on January 16 won most of the 29 municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra. In some cities, the civic body elections took place after a four-year delay.

The six major political parties in the state – the BJP, the Congress, and the two factions each of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party – had entered into several combinations of tie-ups in the 29 cities.

The 122-member Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation saw no clear majority for any party, leading to a tussle for control, including the mayor’s post.

The Shinde Sena is the single-largest party in the corporation with 53 members, while the BJP has 50.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena won five wards and the Uddhav Sena clinched 11, of which only seven have formally registered as a group with the Konkan divisional commissioner, as the corporators of four wards were “missing”.

While the Shinde Sena already has the support of the five corporators from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, four more from Uddhav Sena would take its tally to the majority mark of 62 in the 122-member House.

In addition, the BJP has been ruled out of the mayor’s race, as the post is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category this term and the party does not have an eligible corporator.

Amid the tussle, Sharad Patil, who is the Uddhav Sena’s Kalyan East district chief, on Saturday filed a complaint at the Kolsewadi Police Station about the four “missing” corporators, the Hindustan Times reported.

The complaint urged the police to trace them using CCTV footage, call data records and mobile tower locations.

The Indian Express quoted an unidentified police officer as saying that the matter was being looked into.

Mhatre and Dhone were earlier linked to the Shinde Sena. However, they contested the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation on a Uddhav Sena ticket after failing to secure nominations from Shinde Sena.

While Mhatre defeated former Deputy Mayor Vicky Tare in Ward 21 of Kalyan East, Dhone secured a seat from Ward 13A in Kalyan East.

Kot secured a seat from Ward 4 in Dombivli and Kene from Ward 6 in Kalyan West

Patil told The Indian Express that “inducements” were being offered to corporators.

He added that Mhatre, Dhone, Kot and Kene had received “tickets from us, contested on our symbol, and won because people voted for the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)”.

“Now they have suddenly gone untraceable,” Patil added. “This is a betrayal of the people of Kalyan.”

The Uddhav Sena leader added that the Shinde Sena was trying to wean away more corporators from the party.

“I myself received calls,” The Indian Express quoted Patil as alleging. “They are saying they will ensure we are not disqualified even if the anti-defection law is applied.”

He said that the Uddhav Sena will initiate disqualification proceedings against anyone crossing over.

Earlier, the Hindustan Times had also quoted Uddhav Sena MP Sanjay Raut as saying that a complaint had been filed with the police about the missing corporators.

“We will put up posters in the KDMC [Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation],” the newspaper had quoted him as saying. “They were elected on our symbol. They are traitors and chose a different path 24 hours after their victory.”

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