Raj Thackeray's MNS Backs Shinde Sena In Kalyan-Dombivli As Mayor Numbers Favour BJP

Last Updated:January 21, 2026, 15:43 IST

Even though the Shinde Sena and the BJP are part of the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra, the two parties locked horns to wrest the mayor's post in Kalyan-Dombivli.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray with Shiv Sena chief and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. (File Photo)

In a significant development in the Kalyan–Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has extended support to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena despite the two parties being rivals.

Despite the Thackeray brothers contesting the civic polls together, the MNS has extended support for rival Shinde faction dealing a blow to Uddhav Thackeray.

Former MNS MLA Pramod Patil announced the decision on behalf of the party’s five corporators. Earlier in the day, all 53 Shiv Sena corporators visited the Konkan Divisional Commissioner’s office in Navi Mumbai to formally register their group. At the same venue, the five MNS corporators completed their procedural formalities and officially declared support for the Shiv Sena.

In the recently concluded elections to the 122-member KDMC, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) emerged as the single largest party with 53 seats, followed closely by the BJP with 50. Shiv Sena (UBT) won 11 seats, the MNS secured five, Congress two, and NCP (SP) one. The majority mark in the civic body is 62.

Even though the Shinde Sena and the BJP are part of the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra, the two parties locked horns to wrest the mayor’s post in Kalyan-Dombivli with Shinde Sena opting the MNS over the saffron party.

Confirming the development, Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde said the MNS had extended support keeping the city’s development in mind. He clarified that the Shiv Sena and BJP had contested the civic elections together as part of the Mahayuti alliance and asserted that the mayor of KDMC would be from the Mahayuti. A final decision on the mayoral post, he said, would be taken jointly by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and BJP state president Ravindra Chavan.

With MNS’s backing, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s tally rises to 58 corporators, just four short of the majority mark. Shrikant Shinde also indicated that a few corporators from the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction could extend support, which would help the alliance cross the halfway mark without relying on the BJP.

Meanwhile, the suspense continues over the mayor post for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), where the BJP-Shinde Sena combine ended the Thackeray family’s nearly three-decade dominance over India’s richest civic body.

News politics Raj Thackeray's MNS Backs Shinde Sena In Kalyan-Dombivli As Mayor Numbers Favour BJP

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