Ritu Tawde becomes Mumbai Mayor, ends 25-year Shiv Sena hold over BMC
PTC Web Desk: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India’s richest civic body, on Saturday elected Ritu Tawde, a BJP corporator from Ghatkopar, as its new mayor, marking the first time in 25 years that the post has gone to a party other than the Shiv Sena.
Ritu Tawde is also the first woman mayor of the BMC under the new political configuration and only the second BJP leader to hold the post after Prabhakar Pai, who served as mayor from 1982 to 1983.
Her elevation follows weeks of speculation after the Maharashtra urban local body elections held on January 15, in which the BJP–Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) contested as allies. Tawde’s name was finalised at a meeting of BJP corporators at the BMC headquarters and was formally announced by BJP leader Amit Satnam and Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 227-member BMC, winning 89 seats, while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 29 seats. Together, the alliance commands 118 corporators, comfortably above the simple majority mark of 114.
Tawde will be assisted by Shankar Ghadi of the Shiv Sena, who has been elected as deputy mayor. The Shiv Sena has decided to rotate the deputy mayor’s post among four of its corporators, who will divide the term between themselves.
A two-time corporator, Ritu Tawde has earlier served as the chairperson of the BMC’s Education Committee. She began her political career with the Congress before joining the BJP in 2012. Speaking to reporters after filing her nomination, she said she was “feeling very good” and expressed gratitude to party leadership for the responsibility.
The mayoral election also marked the end of Thackeray family dominance over the BMC. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which contested the polls in alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), secured 65 seats.
The run-up to the mayoral announcement witnessed intense political activity, including concerns over possible defections and shifting alliances. The situation became more fluid after the Shinde-led Shiv Sena moved its corporators to a hotel in Bandra, while the MNS’s support to the Shiv Sena in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation added to political uncertainty.
The BMC, which manages Mumbai’s civic affairs, has a budget of Rs 74,427 crore for the 2025–26 financial year, reflecting a 14 per cent increase over the previous year. Addressing challenges related to urban infrastructure, housing, and public services remains a key task for the new civic leadership.
As part of a rotational reservation system, several other cities, including Pune, Navi Mumbai, Dhule and Nanded-Waghala, have also elected women mayors from the general category.
- PTC NEWS
