Mumbai gets first BJP Mayor in 44 yrs

Mumbai: 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.