22 January,2026 05:58 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The state on Thursday announced the reservation for mayoral posts in 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. Pic/Special Arrangement
Pune, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and Nashik are among the 15 cities in Maharashtra to have women as mayors following the reservation announcement on Thursday, officials said.
The state has announced the reservation for mayoral posts in 29 municipal corporations.
The draw of lots was held under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal and will be applicable for the next two-and-a-half years, an official statement said.
It said that of the 29 civic bodies, 15 will have women mayors from various reserved categories, marking a strong push for women's representation in urban local governance.
Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Dr K. H. Govindrajan, was present during the draw, the statement said.
As per official information, only one mayoral post has been reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. In line with existing rules, there is no provision for reservation for Scheduled Tribe women.
Three mayoral posts have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) category, of which two are reserved for Scheduled Caste women.
Eight mayoral posts have been reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, including four posts for OBC women.
Among the remaining 17 municipal corporations, nine mayoral posts have been reserved for women under the general category, while eight posts fall under the open general category.
Scheduled Tribe (ST): Kalyan-Dombivli
Scheduled Caste (SC): Thane (General), Jalna (Women), Latur (Women)
OBC (Women): Jalgaon, Chandrapur, Ahilyanagar, Akola
OBC (General): Panvel, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur and Ulhasnagar
General (Women): Pune, Dhule, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nanded-Waghala, Malegaon, Mira-Bhayandar, Nagpur and Nashik.
General Category: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Amravati, Vasai-Virar, Solapur, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Bhiwandi-Nizampur
Officials said that the reservation aims to strengthen inclusive governance and ensure wider participation of women and marginalised communities in city administration during the next mayoral term.
Mumbai's mayor will be from the open women category, as per the reservation lottery drawn by the Urban Development Department on Thursday morning, clearing the way for the majority party to decide on the name of Mumbai's next mayor.
According to UDD's laws for urban local bodies, each city's mayoral seat is reserved on a rotation for elected candidates from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, open category, and women. The reservation is decided through a lottery that was conducted by the UDD at 11 am on Thursday for 29 municipal corporations across the state, where polls have been recently concluded.
Parties will now be able to officially name their mayoral candidate for Mumbai by submitting a letter of intent to the municipal secretary in BMC.
