Mumbai: BJP corporator Ritu Tawde was elected mayor of Mumbai on Wednesday, while Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi became the deputy mayor.
Both Tawde and Ghadi were elected unopposed in a special meeting of the general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
After the election process was completed at the BMC headquarters, Tawde took charge as the 78th mayor of Mumbai amid sloganeering from both the ruling and opposition party corporators.
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.
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 the 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.
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.
