BMC Mayor Election: Ritu Tawade will be the BJP's mayor in Mumbai, and Sanjay Ghadi from the Shinde faction will be the deputy mayor; names announced.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced Ritu Tawade as its candidate for the Mumbai mayoral post. The Mumbai mayor's position is reserved for women candidates in the open category (no caste-based reservation applies), making it clear that Mumbai will once again have a female mayor. This will also mark the first time the BJP will have a mayor in Mumbai. Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam announced the name. Meanwhile, Sanjay Shankar Ghadi from the Shinde faction will become the Deputy Mayor, as announced by Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale.

Mahayuti's victory in the Mayor-Deputy Mayor elections is certain

BJP mayoral candidate Ritu Tawade is a three-time corporator from Ghatkopar and a former chairperson of the education committee. The Shiv Sena has nominated Sanjay Shankar Ghadi, a corporator from Ward No. 5, Magathane, for the deputy mayor's post. Given the majority, the victory of the Mahayuti alliance's candidates for the mayor and deputy mayor positions is considered certain.

Ghadi to be Deputy Mayor for the next one and a quarter years

For the Deputy Mayor's post, the Shiv Sena has clarified that Ghadi will hold the position for one and a half years. Shiv Sena secretary Sanjay More said in a statement that Ghadi will serve as Deputy Mayor for 15 months. Ghadi was one of the senior former corporators of Shiv Sena (UBT) who switched allegiance to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. By dividing the term of the Deputy Mayor, the Shiv Sena aims to give opportunities to four of its corporators.

Mayor elections to be held on February 11

The last date for filing nominations for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts is today, February 7. The mayoral elections are scheduled for February 11. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will file nominations for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions. All corporators will be present and demonstrate their strength. Meanwhile, according to media reports, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress may also field candidates for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts.

BJP emerges as the largest party in BMC

In the recently concluded elections for the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while the Shiv Sena won 29 seats. The ruling alliance, which has a total of 118 corporators, has crossed the majority mark (114) and is in a strong position to secure the mayor's post.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), which had ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997, won 65 seats, while its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), won six and one seat respectively.

Among other parties, the Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) three, and the Samajwadi Party two. Two independent candidates also won in these BMC elections, which were held after a gap of nine years. The BMC is the country's richest civic body, with a budget of Rs 74,450 crore for 2025-26, which is more than the budgets of some smaller states.