Putting an end to days of speculation over the Mumbai mayoral race, the Mahayuti alliance has announced its candidates for the top civic posts. BJP leader Ritu Tawde has been nominated as the alliance’s candidate for mayor of Mumbai, while Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shankar Ghadi has been named as the nominee for deputy mayor.
The announcement follows the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, along with polls to 28 other civic bodies across Maharashtra, which were held on January 15. In the BMC elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while the Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, secured 29 seats. Together, the alliance crossed the halfway mark of 144 seats required to form the civic administration.
The mayoral race had remained uncertain until the lottery to determine reservation for mayoral posts was conducted on January 22. For Mumbai, the draw concluded that the mayor’s post would be reserved for a woman from the General category, paving the way for Tawde’s nomination.
Besides Mumbai, civic bodies in Pune, Dhule, Nanded-Waghala and Navi Mumbai will also have women mayors from the General category.
Despite holding a comfortable majority, the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance remained on edge in the days following the elections amid fears of last-minute defections. Tensions escalated after the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena moved its corporators to a hotel in Bandra shortly after the results were declared.
The political uncertainty was further heightened by shifting post-poll alignments across the state. Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) extending support to the Shiv Sena in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) added to the suspense, triggering fresh political churn.
Meanwhile, both the BJP and the Congress accused each other of attempting to poach corporators from rival parties, intensifying the political drama in the run-up to the mayoral lottery.
