KDMC general body meeting adjourned over Modi photo row, MNS hits back at BJP

After MNS leader Amit Thackeray had a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed at a school in Pune, the fallout has now reached Kalyan-Dombivli politics. On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, a ruckus broke out over the same issue at the general body meeting of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC). The BJP strongly protested the incident and demanded that the general body be adjourned for the entire day, and Mayor Harshali Chaudhari eventually announced the adjournment.

BJP group leader Shashikant Kamble raised the issue of the Modi photograph at the general body meeting, condemned the incident and proposed that the sitting be adjourned for the day. Mayor Harshali Chaudhari called the incident unfortunate and decided to adjourn the general body. Notably, the BJP's demand was backed by both the Shiv Sena Shinde faction and the Shiv Sena Thackeray faction. However, MNS and Congress opposed the decision to adjourn the sitting and strongly criticised the BJP.

The Shiv Sena Shinde faction, the BJP and the MNS jointly hold power in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. After the Pune photo episode, the BJP had demanded that the Shinde faction remove the MNS from power, but the Shinde faction did not accept the demand. Instead, the BJP's own stance on the issue drew criticism. This is why political circles were watching closely to see what position the BJP would take at the KDMC general body meeting.

Congress group leader Kanchan Kulkarni targeted the BJP over the decision to adjourn the general body. She said the general body is convened to resolve public issues, but adjourning the sitting over a political matter was mere theatre. She asked why, if the BJP was so opposed to the MNS, it did not step out of the ruling alliance. Congress alleged that the BJP's role of objecting while remaining in power was hypocritical.

MNS group leader Prahlad Mhatre also launched a sharp attack on the BJP at the general body meeting. He said, "If you object so much, why don't you step out of power? You are in power to enjoy its perks. We put the mayor in the chair. We have the majority. You get out of power."

The Modi photograph episode has once again exposed differences among the ruling parties in the KDMC. On one hand, the alliance of the Shiv Sena Shinde faction, the BJP and the MNS remains intact, while on the other, friction between the three parties over political issues is visible. Over the issue of adjourning the general body, the MNS has directly challenged the BJP to step out of power, sharpening the confrontation further. It will now be interesting to see what effect this dispute has on the power equation within the KDMC and on the relationship between the three parties.