Court battle returns as allies BJP & Sena spar again over nominated corporators in Ulhasnagar civic body

Ulhasnagar: Shiv Sena and BJP, the two Mahayuti partners, are also allies in Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC). However, their differences over the appointment of nominated corporators escalated from Bombay High Court to

Supreme Court.

After Supreme Court’s directions, UMC completed the process of appointing seven nominated corporators on Thursday, but the exercise once again exposed their differences, with BJP now indicating that the matter could return to court.

The special general body meeting witnessed a fresh dispute over allocation of the seven posts. Mayor Ashwini Kamlesh Nikam declared five nominees from Shiv Sena and only two from BJP, despite BJP claiming four posts and Shiv Sena three based on their respective strengths in the civic body.

From Shiv Sena, the mayor declared Pancham Omie Kalani, Hema Pinjani, Asha Pawar, Ramesh Chavan and Nilesh Bobde as nominated corporators. From BJP, Dhananjay Bodare and Rajendra Shrikhande alias Bala were declared nominated corporators.

The decision immediately drew objections from BJP, with group leader Rajesh Vadhrya terming the process illegal and saying the party would challenge the mayor’s decision in court.

Vadhrya said the distribution should have been four posts for BJP and three for Shiv Sena. “Four BJP candidates were proposed, but the mayor declared only two names, while five candidates from Shiv Sena were declared. This is a violation of the prescribed legal procedure. We will approach the court against the mayor over the violation,” he said.

Defending Thursday’s decision, Mayor Nikam said she had complied with Supreme Court’s directions. She said Shiv Sena had submitted three nominees, while two posts were given to social workers.

“Four candidates were proposed by BJP. Of these, two were found valid and two invalid. Therefore, I declared the names of the two valid BJP candidates. In place of the other two, two social workers were given an opportunity,” Nikam said.

Vadhrya, however, alleged that the mayor had misused her powers. “In place of our two invalid candidates, we had submitted the names of two other candidates, including an advocate and a doctor, whose names had been found valid by the commissioner. But the mayor misused her powers. We will challenge her decision in court,” he said.

The dispute dates back to last month when two Shiv Sena corporators facing disqualification proceedings informed the mayor that they had challenged their disqualification before Bombay High Court. They sought deferment of the nomination process, arguing that their disqualification had reduced Shiv Sena’s effective strength for the purpose of nominated corporators from four to three.

After obtaining legal advice, the mayor directed the civic administration to defer the process indefinitely. BJP challenged the decision, alleging that the process had been stalled without consulting its alliance partner and contrary to the prescribed procedure.

On Sept 11, Bombay High Court, while hearing a petition filed by BJP district president and UMC group leader Rajesh Vadhrya, directed the civic body to complete the nomination process by Sept 25.

Following the HC order, UMC resumed the process and scheduled a general body meeting for Sept 24. The two disqualified corporators subsequently approached Supreme Court seeking deferment of the process until their pleas were decided. BJP opposed the request.

Supreme Court declined to keep the process pending indefinitely and directed UMC to complete the appointment process by Oct 1.

With new developments and BJP’s plan to move against Sena’s mayor, this battle between two key alliance partners has become a matter of discussion in political circles.