BJP suffers big upset in Kalyan Dombivli civic polls

MUMBAI: In what is a huge setback for the BJP it has failed to come to power in the bitterly fought Kalyan Dombivli civic polls as Shiv Sena is leading in 61 of the 121 seats in the civic polls.

61 is the magic number needed for getting the majority. The BJP which treated the Kalyan Dombivli civic polls as a dress rehearsal for the Mumbai civic polls in 2017 where it wanted to fight the polls separately from the Sena suffered a huge jolt as it is leading in only 29 seats.

The campaign in the Kalyan Dombivli civic polls was so bitterly fought that Sena and BJP workers clashed with each other and even Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis lambasted each other during poll rallies.

The BJP also found itself wanting in the Kolhapur civic polls where out of the 81 seats the BJP was leading in 32 seats still short of a majority while the Congress has won 27 seats. The Sena has got only 4 seats. With the NCP getting 15 the BJP is finding it difficult to cobble up a coalition to come to power.

The results could lead to the Sena being moe belligerent when it comes to dealing with the Fadnavis got in the state or the Modi government in the centre.