The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday named corporator Ritu Tawde as its candidate for the Mumbai mayoral election, while ally Shiv Sena announced Sanjay Ghadi as its nominee for the deputy mayor’s post, signalling a smooth power-sharing arrangement within the ruling alliance at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
BJP leader Amit Satam declared Tawde’s candidature, while Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale announced Ghadi’s name at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters. Tawde represents Ward 132, whereas Ghadi was elected from Ward 5 in the civic polls held on January 15.
According to a statement by Shiv Sena secretary Sanjay More, Ghadi will serve as deputy mayor for a 15-month term. A former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator, Ghadi had earlier switched allegiance to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The party has decided to split the deputy mayor’s tenure to provide opportunities to four of its corporators.
In the elections to the 227-member BMC, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while Shiv Sena secured 29. Together, the ruling alliance commands 118 corporators, comfortably crossing the majority mark of 114 and placing it in a strong position to clinch the mayor’s post.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which controlled the civic body for 25 years since 1997, won 65 seats. Its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), secured six and one seat respectively. The Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) three, and the Samajwadi Party two, while two independents also emerged victorious.
The civic polls were held after a nine-year gap, during which the BMC was run by an administrator appointed by the state government following the expiry of the previous term in March 2022. The BMC, the country’s richest civic body, has a budget of Rs 74,450 crore for 2025–26, exceeding that of several smaller states.
