MNS kingmaker in Kalyan civic polls

Among parties,the BJP took the worst beating as it lost in its traditional stronghold of Dombivali East. Of the six wards here,three have gone to the MNS. BJP leaders said the Shiv Sena votes from here had gone in favour of the MNS.

The KDMC elections were seen as the semi-final for the BMC polls due in early 2012,and had turned into a slugfest between the two Thackeray cousins.

Known to be a bastion of the saffron alliance and with strong influence of the Sangh Pariwars ideological fountainhead RSS,the KDMC has turned into a battleground over the Thackeray legacy with a high pitch campaign over the appointment of Uddhav as the executive president of the Shiv Sena and a war of words between Raj and his uncle Sena chief Bal Thackeray.