Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar get new Mayor

The Shiv Sena and BJP have decided to share the Mayor’s post, with each party getting a term of 15 months.

In the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, Advocate Harshali Thawil-Chaudhary of the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena was elected Mayor, while BJP’s Rahul Damle was elected Deputy Mayor. Both were elected unopposed as no other candidates filed nominations.

The decision was taken at a special meeting chaired by district collector Anchal Goyal.

The corporation had been under administrator’s rule since 2020 after the tenure of the previously elected House was over. Elections were delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting saw heated arguments between ruling party members and the Opposition. Shiv Sena councillor Sachin Pote made remarks against the Shiv Sena (UBT), leading to shouting and protests inside the House.

Later, members observed silence in memory of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash last week.

In the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, BJP corporator Dimple Mehta was elected Mayor with 79 votes, while BJP’s Dhruvkishor Patil was elected Deputy Mayor with the same number of votes.

Congress candidate Rubina Sheikh received 16 votes.

The Mira-Bhayandar election was held amid protests outside the municipal corporation building where groups including the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena opposed Mehta’s election, saying the city should have a Marathi-speaking Mayor. Despite the protests, voting went ahead as scheduled.

Reacting to the protests, BJP MLA Pratap Sarnaik said similar objections were not raised earlier when non-Marathi leaders were elected in the region.

He said attention should remain on civic works.