Shinde Sena trumps ally BJP by one seat in Kalyan-Dombivli civic polls

Eknath Shinde with Devendra Fadnavis.

The elections to the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) took an interesting turn on Friday as the municipal corporation saw a neck-and-neck contest between the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and BJP, with the former edging out its Mahayuti ally by one seat.

According to the final tally on Friday, Shiv Sena won 52 seats in the 122-member civic body, followed closely by the BJP with 51 seats.

Meanwhile, the Uddhav Sena came a distant third with just 11 seats, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) managed five, Congress bagged two seats, and the NCP (SP) secured one, as per data shared by the KDMC's election department, PTI reported.

With no single party managing to cross the clear majority mark on its own, the results indicate the likelihood of intense negotiations and strategic discussions in the coming days.

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has come to power in 25 of the 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, where elections were held on January 15.