Mumbai gets BJP mayor after 44 years as Ritu Tawde gets elected unopposed

Ritu Tawde was on Wednesday elected as the 78th Mayor of Mumbai, becoming the second BJP corporator to occupy the prestigious post in 44 years, while Shiv Sena's Sanjay Ghadi was elected as deputy mayor.

Tawde (53) and Ghadi (57) were elected unopposed at a special meeting of the general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) following the January 15 civic elections. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and other opposition parties did not field a candidate.

The city had its first BJP Mayor in 1982-83 when Prabhakar Pai held the post. Tawde's election on Wednesday marked the end of the Thackeray family's dominance in Mumbai's politics. Though largely ceremonial, the mayor’s post carries enormous political and symbolic significance in Mumbai’s identity-driven politics.

Municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who had been acting as state-appointed administrator of the country's richest civic body since the term of the earlier general body expired in March 2022, chaired the meeting. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar and other leaders of the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena were present at the BMC headquarters. Amid sloganeering by corporators from both the ruling BJP-led alliance and the opposition, Tawde took charge of her post.

Ritu Tawde was elected from ward 132 while Ghadi was elected from ward 5 in last month's elections. The mayoral election—which was only a formality in the absence of opposition candidates—was held in the BMC's historic Committee Hall. Gagrani, as presiding officer, conducted the proceedings.

Earlier in the day, corporators of the BJP and Shiv Sena paid floral tributes at Hutatma Chowk, a memorial of those who died in the struggle for statehood for Maharashtra.

In the elections to the 227-member BMC last month, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while its ally Shiv Sena won 29 seats. The ruling alliance thus crossed the halfway mark of 114. The Shiv Sena (UBT) headed by Uddhav Thackeray won 65 seats, while its allies Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Nationalist Congress Party (SP), won six and one seats, respectively. The undivided Shiv Sena headed by the Thackeray family had ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997.

Tawde, who was originally with the Congress, joined the BJP in 2012 and was elected as a corporator from Ghatkopar area in the same year. She has served as chairperson of the BMC's education committee.

She was in the limelight during her previous term for raising the issue of `objectionable' clothing of mannequins in shops. Tawde lost to the Shiv Sena candidate from Ghatkopar East in the 2017 civic elections. After joining the BJP, she held key positions in the party's women's wing.

She has organised awareness drives on sanitation and hygiene, and supported self-employment initiatives under central and state programmes. Tawde has also been vocal on issues concerning the safety and dignity of women and has led protests regarding incidents affecting school students and local residents.