BJP’s Ritu Tawde has emerged as the choice for Mumbai Mayor, marking the first time in 25 years that the post will be held by a party other than the Shiv Sena.
Tawde, a corporator from Ghatkopar, has previously served as Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shankar Ghadi, elected corporator from Ward No. 5 in the January 15 civic polls, will take over as Deputy Mayor. He will hold the post for 15 months, after which the Shiv Sena plans to rotate the position among four of its corporators. Ghadi was among the leaders who joined Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction in 2022, a move that led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
BJP leader Amit Satam announced Tawde’s name for the mayoral post, while Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale declared Ghadi’s candidature on Saturday.
In the 227-member civic body elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while Shiv Sena secured 29 seats. The ruling alliance, with a combined strength of 118 corporators, has crossed the majority mark of 114 and is well placed to form the civic leadership.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which had ruled the BMC continuously since 1997, won 65 seats. Its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), secured six and one seat respectively. Among other parties, the Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) three, and the Samajwadi Party two.
The high-stakes civic elections were held after a gap of nine years. During this period, the BMC was administered by a state government-appointed administrator from March 7, 2022, following the expiry of the previous term.
The BMC remains the country’s richest civic body, with its budget for 2025–26 estimated at ₹74,450 crore. (Agencies)
