Kishori Pednekar the Mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation which is India’s richest municipal corporation. She was elected as Mayor without any opposition. She is a nurse by profession and that is the reason during the COVID pandemic she motivated many healthcare workers to deal with the situation. However, now that her term is coming to an end and when we asked various politicians about Kishori Pednekar’s performance most of them expressed their disappointment.
Ram Kadam, BJP MLA (Ghatkoper) said, “We rate her (Kishori Pednekar) performance a zero. Kishori Pednekar is the leader of Shiv Sena, has been in Mumbai for 30 years as a ruling party member. After spending 21,000 crore rupees, see the apathy of roads, the apathy of hospitals and every sector comes under her jurisdiction. Instead of spending money on hospitals, she has been trying to indulge in corruption. She bought medicines at double the price available. There are various examples. Even the hospitals built during the Covid pandemic were given to some builders. The said builder has no experience in supplying medical equipment. This is all evident that, according to me, her performance was zero.”
“Showing some sympathy as a woman social worker, I shall not rate her negatively. Otherwise, she will get minus points from me. As a Mayor, she has not done anything worthwhile which was useful to the Mumbai people. She has not used her Mayor powers and funds for the enhancement for Mumbai. But her son and other aides are openly involved in corruption and scams. During the Covid period, she had indulged in straightening the political front instead of genuinely helping people. So, at every count, her performance is below zero level,” said Madhav Bhandari, BJP Chief Spokesperson.
Krishna Hegde, Shiv Sena (Vile Parle) leader said, “Kishori Pednekar’s performance is excellent. She has been a nurse herself; she knows the requirements of patients. I have seen whenever there was some problem in some hospitals; she had always gone there and taken care of the needs. Secondly, Mumbai is a huge city. It is a vast metropolis, with a 1.53 crore of population. And, to be the Mayor of this city and to understand and solve the problems and also take care of the pandemic together at the same time is not very easy. She has done a good job.”
“Corporators’ funds are different when doing day to day jobs. Corporators’ funds you can use anytime, before or after the elections, now or after. And, being a senior corporator and a Mayor, she knows her responsibility and I am sure she will utilize her funds to complete some good projects in the constituency,” Hegde stated further.
Gopal Shetty, BJP MP (Borivali) told Afternoon Voice, “As a corporator, she is very much active, but as a Mayor, she has always ignored the dignity of that post. After becoming a Mayor, one shouldn’t be partial. There should be some clarity that was always missing.”
Sanjay Potnis, Shiv Sena MLA (Kalina) said, “I thank her for the way she focused on the health services of the municipal corporation during Covid times by taking care of Mumbaikars. The ones who were in contact with her know how praiseworthy it is. Being a woman, visiting hospitals late at night, focusing on personal matters as well as standing firmly for the Party, she’s done all three of them. In tough times she worked well and that’s why I thank her from my side.”
Bhaskar Khursange, Shiv Sena Corporator (Borivali) said, “I give her a hundred per cent marks on her performance as Mayor. Whenever we contacted her for some work, she never said no. Immediately the work is directed in the appropriate direction. She has provided sufficient funds to us from time to time. BJP’s job is to blame us, which hardly makes any difference. Every corporator is given funds accordingly. It is obvious that their party’s corporators will get more funds. When Devendra Fadnavis was the Chief Minister, his MLAs were given more funds. I rate her as a 100 per cent able Mayor.”
BJP MLA Manisha Chaudhary (Dahisar) said, “Keep aside the Fund Matter, it’s her concern and issue. Let me know why the Mayor worked as I am a Spokesperson for any party. The Mayor is the first citizen of the city. Tell me why is the Parel bridge still incomplete, why hasn’t the work completed as yet. All the time she is on a trip saying we did this and we did that! Nothing done and credit taken for crediting, isn’t she? As a Mayor, her first priority should have been for Mumbai and not her political party.”
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi (Mankhurd) said, “It is very sad but true that she has not utilized her Corporation Fund for the Welfare of public in the past 2 years. The Fund is always to use as it gets implied for progressive work and development creation. A Mayor is a Constitutional post; it is like an authority of Governance and Administration of the Civil Metro region. How is it that she can belong to a political party when in Chair?”
BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha (Mulund) said, “Mayor is a very honoured and prestigious as well as respectable position. Is it right for her to only give preference for the Corporator of her Own Political Party? Why so? Aren’t the others elected Members of the Municipal Commission. If she is not using the Mayor Fund for Brihanmumbai then she can be given only 3 marks out of 10 for her tenure as the First Citizen of Greater Mumbai. ”
Anil Galgali, RTI activist said, “Mayor Kishori Pednekar is one of the senior elected corporators, so she knows the ground reality. Mumbai is the capital of tragedy and as a Mayor, she has fulfilled the duty as a first citizen of Mumbai. She is aware of Mumbai’s problems and her actions show that she is trying her best. The Mayor needs more powers So that they can work more responsibly and efficiently.”
“Corruption in the BMC is at an all-time high; performance is at an all-time low. Kishori Pednekar deserves a Gold Medal for being the worst performing Mayor,” said Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP Spokesperson.
