The Shiv Sena has decided to go it alone in the forthcoming Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) election and not have any tie-up with the BJP with which it shares power in the State.
The decision was taken on Monday night at a meeting of senior Sena leaders, a party leader said.
Fadnavis disapproves of Sena protest
The development comes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis chided the Shiv Sena for bringing the State a bad name due to the protests against former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri’s book launch in Mumbai.
Mr. Fadnavis, disapproving of the Sena’s protests, said last evening that it had brought disrepute to the State.
“We cannot endorse Kasuri, but can’t let our State turn into banana republic. The rule of law has prevailed. I think the way things have happened has brought a bad name to our State. There could have been better ways to put forth a point of view,” he had said.
On Monday, former BJP leader Kulkarni, the chairperson of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), an international policy think tank, was rendered virtually unrecognisable after some Sena activists stopped his car near his central Mumbai residence around 9.30 a.m., and smeared his face with paint.
KDMC elections on Nov. 1
Kalyan and Dombivali are satellite cities adjacent to Mumbai and the Municipal Corporation is currently run by the Sena-BJP alliance.
The Shiv Sena is all set to contest all 122 seats alone. The KDMC elections are to be held on November 1.
Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve told PTI that the party had left the decision on the alliance issue with local BJP unit in Kalyan.
“We are not going to impose anything on the local unit,” he added.
