BJP Corporator Ritu Tawde is set to become the next Mumbai Mayor, with Shiv Sena's Sanjay Ghadi as her deputy under the BJP-Shiv Sena (Mahayuti) alliance. Both the candidates filed their nominations earlier this month
(Right) BJP's Ritu Tawde and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi are set to become the mayor and deputy mayor, respectively. Pic/PTI
Mumbai is set to get a new mayor on Wednesday as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) holds its mayoral election at the civic headquarters in south Mumbai.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Corporator Ritu Tawde is poised to become the next Mumbai Mayor, with Shiv Sena's Sanjay Ghadi as her deputy under the Mahayuti alliance. Both the corporators filed their nominations earlier this month and are likely to be elected unopposed for the two posts, given the Mahayuti's majority in the 227-member House.
Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief and deputy CM Eknath Shinde are likely to be present at the BMC headquarters on Wednesday noon.
On Tuesday evening, BJP and Shiv Sena flags and banners were put up in the Fort area near the BMC headquarters.
Tawde, a two-time corporator from Ghatkopar East (Ward 132), will become Mumbai's eighth woman mayor and the first from BJP in nearly four decades.
Meanwhile, Ghadi, a Shiv Sena Corporator from Ward 5 who defected from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) to the Eknath Shinde-led faction, is the deputy mayor nominee.
He has pitched for stronger powers for the mayor and deputy mayor roles, describing them as largely ceremonial with limited authority over budgets, officials, and administration — powers that rest mainly with the state-appointed municipal commissioner. Ghadi plans to write to the urban development department (headed by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) seeking greater delegation to elected representatives for better resolution of citizen grievances.
BMC Mayor 2026: BJP, Shiv Sena dominate civic polls
The election follows the first BMC polls in Mumbai after the 2022 Shiv Sena split. BJP emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, followed by Shinde's Sena with 29. Sena (UBT) won 65, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) six, Congress 24, with the others getting the remaining seats.
The mayoral election marks the first time in 25 years that a party other than the Shiv Sena will hold the post.
The BMC, with a Rs 74,450 crore budget for 2025-26, has been under a state administrator since March 2022. The mayor's post was reserved for a woman from the open category via lottery last month.
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