India, Jan. 8 -- With barely days left for campaigning ahead of the January 15 elections to 29 local bodies, political activity in Wadala's Ward 178 briefly came to a standstill, a pause triggered not by voter fatigue, but by simmering resentment within the alliance itself.

Campaigning by workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was suspended till Tuesday after the seat was allotted to the MNS, despite its weak showing in the ward during the 2017 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, where it finished sixth. The decision left local Sena leaders and cadres deeply dissatisfied.

For weeks, there had been near-universal expectation on the ground that Madhuri Manjrekar, a long-time Sena worker with stro...