For the last two decades, Ulhasnagar and its MLA Suresh alias Pappu Kalani have been synonymous. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Kalani holds the rare distinction of winning the elections twice while he was in jail facing several charges under Indian Penal Code and TADA. He is yet to face a contender who would match his might, charisma and popularity.

However, this time around it is not going to be a cakewalk for him due to delimitation. After the delimitation, camp number four and five, consisting predominantly of non-Sindhi population and supporters of Republican Party of India (RPI), have been carved out. Delimitation has also resulted in the inclusion of Kambha and Warap villages into the constituency that boasts of 18,000 votes.

It has been said in the past that Kalani, who contested the last Assembly election on RPI (Athavale) ticket, won due to the presence of majority of RPI supporters in camp number four and five. Sans the camp number four and five, Kalani would now have to solely depend on the 2.80 lakh voters from Ulhasnagar, majority of who are Sindhis. The last Lok Sabha elections saw a 22 per cent voter turnout from Ulhasnagar.

Gangajal Front, led by friend-turned-foe and religious sect leader Sai Balram that derailed Kalani’s reign over Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) is now supporting Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kumar Ailani. How far this support would translate into votes for Ailani is yet to be seen.

Moreover, Kalani is contesting as an Independent, the last time he did so was in 1995. The ground realities have changed since then. Though Kalani has claimed to have laid 60 per cent of concrete roads in Ulhasnagar, other roads are in urgent need of repair. There is no hope for further development as the city measuring 13 sq km is dense considering it houses a population of 7 lakh. The vertical growth has resulted in thousands of illegal structures that have now come under the ambit of new legislation tailor made for Ulhasnagar.