Maharashtra assembly elections: BJP’s Kumar Ailani trounces Kalani in Ulhasnagar

ULHASNAGAR: In a neck-and-neck fight, BJP candidate Kumar Ailani from Ulhasnagar won against sitting NCP MLA Jyoti Kalani by a margin of just 2004 votes.
Members of the Kalani family have been MLAs from Ulhasnagar for five terms, except in 2009 when Ailani had defeated Jyoti’s husband Pappu Kalani as well.
This time, Ailani got 43,666 votes against Jyoti’s 41,662.His win has raised questions over the popularity of the Kalanis. Pappu Kalani, who is in jail over a murder, was four times MLA from back in 1990 till 2004; in 2014, Jyoti had won by defeating Ailani. This time, the family had expected a BJP ticket but it was denied. Political observers say their votes got divided between independent candidate Bhagwan Bhalerao and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi’s Sajan Labana.