{"id":2153,"date":"2026-01-12T14:03:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T08:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/?p=2153"},"modified":"2026-01-12T14:11:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T08:41:55","slug":"crorepati-candidates-dominate-civic-polls-across-mumbai-metropolitan-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/crorepati-candidates-dominate-civic-polls-across-mumbai-metropolitan-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Crorepati Candidates Dominate Civic Polls Across Mumbai Metropolitan Region"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Crorepati Candidates Dominate Civic Polls Across Mumbai Metropolitan Region<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Crorepati\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Kalyan \/ Navi Mumbai \/ Panvel | Undercover Editor News Channel, January 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

As the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) heads into crucial municipal corporation elections on January 15, a striking trend has emerged across major civic bodies \u2014 a sharp rise in crorepati candidates contesting local body polls, cutting across party lines.<\/p>\n\n

An analysis of candidates\u2019 affidavits filed before the elections reveals that more than half of the contestants in Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai and Panvel municipal corporations are crorepatis,<\/strong> with several declaring assets exceeding \u20b9100 crore. The data highlights the growing influence of wealth, particularly from the real estate and infrastructure sectors, in grassroots politics.<\/p>\n\n

Kalyan-Dombivli: Real Estate Wealth Takes Centre Stage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC),<\/strong> three candidates have declared assets worth more than \u20b9100 crore, drawing attention to the increasing dominance of affluent candidates in civic governance.<\/p>\n\n

Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Patil<\/strong>, contesting from Ward No. 29 in Dombivli, has emerged as the richest candidate in the KDMC polls<\/strong>, declaring assets worth \u20b9182.56 crore<\/strong>. Notably, Patil had declared assets of around \u20b995 crore during the 2015 civic elections, indicating that his wealth has nearly doubled over the past decade.<\/p>\n\n

The second richest candidate in KDMC is Shiv Sena\u2019s Shalini Sunil Wayle<\/strong>, contesting from Ward No. 2 in Kalyan West, with declared assets of \u20b9140.77 crore<\/strong>. In the previous election, her assets stood at approximately \u20b9105 crore, largely comprising ancestral immovable properties.<\/p>\n\n

The third on the list is Saroj Rai,<\/strong> wife of businessman and former BJP corporator Manoj Rai, who has declared combined family assets worth \u20b9122 crore.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Election data further shows that over half of the KDMC candidates are crorepatis<\/strong>, while only a small fraction have assets below \u20b91 crore, underscoring the widening economic gap among those contesting civic polls.<\/p>\n\n

Navi Mumbai: Nearly Half the Candidates Are Crorepatis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC),<\/strong> the trend is equally prominent. Of the total 499 candidates<\/strong>, as many as 226 have declared assets exceeding \u20b91 crore.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Congress candidate Santosh Shetty from Nerul<\/strong> tops the wealth chart in Navi Mumbai, with declared assets of \u20b9100 crore<\/strong>. Shiv Sena\u2019s Navi Mumbai chief Kishore Patkar<\/strong> follows closely, with assets worth \u20b993 crore<\/strong>, primarily from the real estate sector.<\/p>\n\n

Another standout is the Gavte family from Digha<\/strong>, where three family members \u2014 Navin, Aparna and Deepa Gavte <\/strong>\u2014 are contesting the elections with a combined declared wealth of \u20b9306 crore,<\/strong> making them one of the wealthiest political families in the region.<\/p>\n\n

Several other prominent crorepati candidates include BJP\u2019s Ravindra Ithape (\u20b975 crore),<\/strong> Shiv Sena\u2019s Namdev Bhagat (\u20b956 crore) <\/strong>and Mandakini Mhatre (\u20b944 crore),<\/strong> BJP\u2019s Netra Shirke (\u20b937 crore)<\/strong> and Suresh Shetty (\u20b925 crore),<\/strong> along with Shiv Sena\u2019s M.K. Madhavi (\u20b924 crore).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Panvel: BJP Candidates Lead the Wealth Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC)<\/strong> area, BJP candidates dominate the list of wealthy contenders. Iqbal Kazi<\/strong> declared assets worth \u20b9171 crore,<\/strong> while Madhu Patil from Kharghar<\/strong> reported assets exceeding \u20b9140 crore.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Five more BJP candidates \u2014 Chandrakant Soni, Santosh Shetty, Dashrath Mhatre, Mamta Mhatre and a candidate from Kalamboli<\/strong> \u2014 declared assets ranging from \u20b918 crore to \u20b944 crore<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Among other parties, Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) <\/strong>candidates Arvind Mhatre<\/strong> and Dilip Kadam <\/strong>declared assets worth \u20b937.88 crore<\/strong> and \u20b910.45 crore <\/strong>respectively.<\/p>\n\n

Money Power and Civic Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Political observers note that the growing presence of crorepati candidates reflects the increasing role of money power in local governance<\/strong>, especially in rapidly urbanising regions like MMR, where real estate, transport and infrastructure businesses play a major role.<\/p>\n\n

As voters prepare to cast their ballots, the elections raise larger questions about representation, transparency, and the widening gap between elected representatives and ordinary citizens<\/strong> in urban civic administration.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crorepati Candidates Dominate Civic Polls Across Mumbai Metropolitan Region Kalyan \/ Navi Mumbai \/ Panvel | Undercover Editor News Channel, January 2026 As the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) heads into crucial municipal corporation elections on January 15, a striking trend has emerged across major civic bodies \u2014 a sharp rise in crorepati candidates contesting local body polls, cutting across party lines. An analysis of candidates\u2019 affidavits filed before the elections reveals that more than half of the contestants in Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai and Panvel municipal corporations are crorepatis, with several declaring assets exceeding \u20b9100 crore. The data highlights the growing influence of wealth, particularly from the real estate and infrastructure sectors, in grassroots politics. Kalyan-Dombivli: Real Estate Wealth Takes Centre Stage In the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), three candidates have declared assets worth more than \u20b9100 crore, drawing attention to the increasing dominance of affluent candidates in civic governance. Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Patil, contesting from Ward No. 29 in Dombivli, has emerged as the richest candidate in the KDMC polls, declaring assets worth \u20b9182.56 crore. Notably, Patil had declared assets of around \u20b995 crore during the 2015 civic elections, indicating that his wealth has nearly doubled over the past decade. The second richest candidate in KDMC is Shiv Sena\u2019s Shalini Sunil Wayle, contesting from Ward No. 2 in Kalyan West, with declared assets of \u20b9140.77 crore. In the previous election, her assets stood at approximately \u20b9105 crore, largely comprising ancestral immovable properties. The third on the list is Saroj Rai, wife of businessman and former BJP corporator Manoj Rai, who has declared combined family assets worth \u20b9122 crore. Election data further shows that over half of the KDMC candidates are crorepatis, while only a small fraction have assets below \u20b91 crore, underscoring the widening economic gap among those contesting civic polls. Navi Mumbai: Nearly Half the Candidates Are Crorepatis In the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), the trend is equally prominent. Of the total 499 candidates, as many as 226 have declared assets exceeding \u20b91 crore. Congress candidate Santosh Shetty from Nerul tops the wealth chart in Navi Mumbai, with declared assets of \u20b9100 crore. Shiv Sena\u2019s Navi Mumbai chief Kishore Patkar follows closely, with assets worth \u20b993 crore, primarily from the real estate sector. Another standout is the Gavte family from Digha, where three family members \u2014 Navin, Aparna and Deepa Gavte \u2014 are contesting the elections with a combined declared wealth of \u20b9306 crore, making them one of the wealthiest political families in the region. Several other prominent crorepati candidates include BJP\u2019s Ravindra Ithape (\u20b975 crore), Shiv Sena\u2019s Namdev Bhagat (\u20b956 crore) and Mandakini Mhatre (\u20b944 crore), BJP\u2019s Netra Shirke (\u20b937 crore) and Suresh Shetty (\u20b925 crore), along with Shiv Sena\u2019s M.K. Madhavi (\u20b924 crore). Panvel: BJP Candidates Lead the Wealth Charts In the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) area, BJP candidates dominate the list of wealthy contenders. Iqbal Kazi declared assets worth \u20b9171 crore, while Madhu Patil from Kharghar reported assets exceeding \u20b9140 crore. Five more BJP candidates \u2014 Chandrakant Soni, Santosh Shetty, Dashrath Mhatre, Mamta Mhatre and a candidate from Kalamboli \u2014 declared assets ranging from \u20b918 crore to \u20b944 crore. Among other parties, Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) candidates Arvind Mhatre and Dilip Kadam declared assets worth \u20b937.88 crore and \u20b910.45 crore respectively. Money Power and Civic Politics Political observers note that the growing presence of crorepati candidates reflects the increasing role of money power in local governance, especially in rapidly urbanising regions like MMR, where real estate, transport and infrastructure businesses play a major role. As voters prepare to cast their ballots, the elections raise larger questions about representation, transparency, and the widening gap between elected representatives and ordinary citizens in urban civic administration.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[122,152,279],"tags":[513,507,508,506,512,372,509,510,511,514],"class_list":["post-2153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maharashtra-new","category-civic-political-news","category-election","tag-bjp-shiv-sena-congress","tag-crorepati-candidates","tag-kalyan-dombivli-election","tag-mmr-election","tag-money-power-in-election","tag-mumbai-civic-polls","tag-navi-mumbai-municipal-corporation","tag-panvel-civic-polls","tag-real-estate-politics","tag-urban-local-body-election"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2153"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2158,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2153\/revisions\/2158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/undercovereditor.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}