New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party corporator Ritu Tawde was elected unopposed as Mumbai’s next mayor, marking the party’s return to the post after 44 years and ending the Shiv Sena’s 25-year rule in Mumbai. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).The race became uncontroversial after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) decided not to field a challenger against Tadeh, effectively clearing her way into the mayor’s office. Although the mayor’s role is largely ceremonial, it has strong political and symbolic significance in Mumbai’s identity-oriented civic politics.Tod’s elevation will be the first time the BJP has won the mayor’s office in Mumbai since Prabhakar Pai’s tenure in 1982-83. It also means that the undivided Shiv Sena, who controlled the BMC from 1997 to 2022, will no longer hold the mayor’s post after nearly three decades.On the last day of nominations, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ally of Mahayurti, nominated Sanjay Gadhi as its deputy mayor candidate. The party announced that the deputy mayor’s term would be split, allowing multiple legal persons to serve during the term.A senior BMC official told PTI that only nominations for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor were received before the 6 pm deadline. “We have received nominations only from Ritu Tawde of the BJP for the mayor’s post and Sanjay Ghadi for the deputy mayor’s post,” the official said.Although the opposition parties have not yet submitted their nominations, the election process will be officially completed on February 11, which is also the last day to withdraw nominations. The post of mayor has been reserved for a woman candidate in the open category after a draw by the Ministry of Urban Development.Tawde (53), a corporator from Ghatkopar East, submitted his nomination to the city secretary’s office in the presence of senior leaders including Mahayutthi, including minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha and BJP’s Mumbai unit chief Ameet Satam. In an interview with reporters, she said that building a safer and more developed Mumbai is her top priority and she hopes to work for the citizens of this cosmopolitan city.The Shiv Sena (UBT) was expected to challenge the BJP nominee but decided against it after a meeting at the official residence of party president Uddhav Thackeray. Former Mumbai mayor and Sena Party (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar said the decision showed respect for Maratha identity.“BJP has to accept that Marathi Manus is a Hindu. If the mayor of Mumbai is a Marathi Manus, we will not do anything ominous. We have accepted the arithmetic and will play the role of strong opposition and fight for Mumbai,” Pednekar said.The Sena Party (UBT) had proposed a Marathi identity platform in last month’s BMC elections and contested in alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). The BJP emerged as the largest single party with 89 seats in the 227-member civic body. The ruling Mahayoti Alliance has a total of 118 companies, easily crossing the half-mark of 114.The city will have a BJP mayor after four decades, the BJP’s Sattam told a press conference earlier in the day. “We have the support of 118 corporators and more members. Mahayuti will work to free the BMC from the clutches of corruption,” he said.Sattam also said that the alliance had asserted from the beginning that the Mumbai mayor would be a Marathi and a Hindu. “The city will now have a Marathi, Malwani, Konkani and Hindu mayor,” he added.The National Communist Party (SP) reacted sharply and criticized the BJP’s choice, saying that choosing a former Congress leader as the mayor has demoralized party loyalists. NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said: “The BJP’s selection of a former congresswoman as mayor insults the loyal business owners who have given blood, sweat and tears to the party.”After quitting the Congress Party, Tod joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2012 and was elected as a corporator in the same year. During her first term, she chaired the BMC Education Committee and raised issues related to infrastructure, water supply and public safety. She also gained attention for her campaign against mannequins displaying offensive clothing in stores.Party secretary Sanjay More said Ghadi, the MP from Ward 5 who defected from the Sena (UBT) to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, will serve as deputy mayor for 15 months.The BMC, India’s richest private institution, has been run by a state-appointed administrator since March 2022, when the previous term ended. The budget for 2025-26 is Rs 74,450 crore, which is higher than the budgets of several Indian states.
