Mumbai mayor race ends early: Mahayuti names BJP’s Ritu Tawde, Sena locks Sanjay Ghadi as deputy pick

BMC power play: Mahayuti reveals mayor-deputy mayor candidates as nominations close today

The uncertainty over Mumbai’s next mayor ended on Friday after the Mahayuti alliance announced its candidates for the top civic posts in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party named Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ritu Tawde as its candidate for mayor, while the Shiv Sena picked Sanjay Shankar Ghadi for the post of deputy mayor.

The mayor’s post is reserved for women candidates in the open category, making Tawde’s nomination decisive. Tawde is a corporator from Ward 132, Ghatkopar. With Mahayuti holding a clear numerical edge in the civic house, the alliance’s candidates are widely expected to win when voting takes place at the BMC headquarters on February 11.

The Shiv Sena said Ghadi, a corporator from Ward 5, Magathane, will serve as deputy mayor for one and a half years. A party circular, issued on the instructions of Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde, formally declared Ghadi as the alliance’s official candidate and asked all corporators to adhere to the decision.

The deadline for filing nominations for mayor and deputy mayor posts ends on February 7. The BJP–Shiv Sena alliance is expected to file its nominations together, with corporators present to demonstrate strength.

The opposition, including the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction and the Congress, is likely to field candidates, though the numbers are stacked heavily against them.

After the mayoral race, attention is expected to move to control over powerful civic committees, including the standing committee, improvement committee, education committee and BEST committee, where BJP and Shiv Sena allies are keen to secure chairmanships.