Mumbai: In a politically charged showdown marked by Congress protests and Shiv Sena (UBT) walkouts, BJP’s Ritu Tawde was elected unopposed as Mumbai’s 78th mayor on Wednesday, while c assumed office as deputy mayor. Tawde is the eighth woman and only the second BJP leader in 44 years to hold the post. Her rise signals a historic power shift, ending nearly three decades of Thackeray-led Shiv Sena dominance over the country’s richest municipal corporation.
BMC House turns battlefield as rival factions trade 'Thackeray', 'Modi', 'Deva Bhau' slogans
Ahead of the mayoral election, the BMC House in civic headquarters turned into a battlefield of slogans and a fierce power play. While Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators roared “Thackeray, Thackeray,” BJP corporators fired back with “Modi” and “Deva Bhau,” each side staking its claim to dominance. The confrontation escalated into a heated clash over the appointment of BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani as presiding officer. Shiv Sena (UBT) group leader Kishori Pednekar raised a point of order, saying, “We have many senior corporators, including Shraddha Jadhav, elected for the seventh time. While all corporators will work for the city’s development, the commissioner should not have been placed on the dais as presiding officer, which the rules stipulate.”
Gagrani clarified that, under a recent state government resolution (GR), commissioners will preside over the election of the mayor and deputy mayor in a special meeting of newly elected corporators, effectively ending the Opposition’s challenge. He formally declared Tawde as the unopposed Mayor of Mumbai after Shiv Sena (UBT) chose not to field a candidate. In a similar uncontested outcome, Shinde Sena’s Ghadi was appointed deputy Mayor. Tensions, however, continued as Congress corporators staged protests over deteriorating air quality in the city. Wearing masks, they entered the civic house, but with 227 corporators and officials already present, there was no seating available for them, sparking a chaotic scene and loud chants across the BMC House. Despite the turmoil, Tawde continued her mayoral speech amid the uproar.
Meanwhile, as deputy mayor Ghadi began his speech, Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators tore apart his speech documents, raised slogans of “50 khoke ekdam okay,” and staged a walkout from the civic house. Ghadi, a former member of the undivided Shiv Sena, had joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction following the party’s split, intensifying the political tension.
CM- DCM in BMC House to congratulate the mayor
BJP’s first mayor, Prabhakar Pai, held the post in 1982–83, after which the mayoralty remained a distant dream for the party. Following its rise to power in the BMC, BJP pulled out all stops to demonstrate its political strength on Wednesday. In a historic first, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were present in the civic house gallery to witness the mayoral election, personally congratulating the newly elected mayor and deputy mayor. They were joined by Cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, BJP Mumbai president Amit Satam, MLA Yogesh Sagar, MLC Chitra Wagh, and former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale.
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