Having made the leap from being a House backbencher and first-time corporator to holding the post of the mayor — the highest in the BMC setup — in a span of two-odd years, the phenomenal rise of Snehal Ambekar, Mumbai’s first woman dalit mayor, has all the ingredients that go into the making of an inspirational story.

Corridors of power: Snehal Ambekar took time out to prepare for Monday’s General Body Meeting — her first as mayor — yesterday.  Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

But, if her three days in office are anything to go by, the hurdles posed by her inexperience have a very good chance of marring her term. Ambekar, who has found herself in the eye of the red beacon storm already, faces one of her biggest challenges on Monday, when she will chair her first General Body Meeting of the BMC.

While the functioning of the BMC comes naturally to those who have served at least one five-year term, a visibly nervous Ambekar met the municipal secretary yesterday to understand all the rules and laws she needs to know ahead of the House meet. And, while the opposition is always a threat, she also has to contend with ego issues within the Shiv Sena, given the fact that senior corporators from her party, who she used to answer to so far, will now have to answer to her.

mid-day caught up with her yesterday to get her views on the red beacon controversy and to ask her about her priorities as the first citizen of the country’s financial capital. Excerpts: