Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named corporator Ritu Tawde as its candidate for the post of Mumbai Mayor, signalling the party’s preference for a grassroots leader with a strong local connect. Tawde is expected to file her nomination shortly. As part of the Mahayuti alliance arrangement, the Shiv Sena has nominated corporator Sanjay Ghadi for the post of Deputy Mayor.
Who Is Ritu Tawde?
Tawde is a two-term corporator from Ward 132 in Ghatkopar, an area with a sizeable Gujarati voter base. Despite belonging to the Maratha community, she has managed to win support across communities in the ward, a factor party leaders say reflects her accessibility and consistent local presence.
Her electoral journey has seen both victory and defeat. In the 2017 civic polls, she contested from Ward 127 but lost to Tukaram Krishna Patil of the then United Shiv Sena by a margin of 4,024 votes, according to data from My Corporator. She later returned to electoral politics and secured wins from Ward 132, establishing herself as a key BJP face in the Ghatkopar belt.
Formally, she was a part of the Congress but in 2012, she made her shift to the BJP. Her total movable and immovable assets were valued at Rs 5.26 crore in 2025, up from Rs 3.58 crore in 2017.
According to the My Neta Website report, Ritu Tawde has a strong educational foundation. She has completed her 12th-grade education as well as B.Com senior year (second-year Bachelor of Commerce) in 1996 from N.G. Acharya College in Chembur, Mumbai.
What Next?
The election for the Mumbai mayor post will take place on Wednesday February 11. The selection of the mayoral category is based on a lottery system introduced after the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which mandates rotational reservation of leadership posts in local bodies. Under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the mayor’s post rotates among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women (both reserved and open), and the general category.
How The Lottery Is Conducted
The process takes place at Mantralaya (the State Secretariat) in Mumbai, usually overseen by the Minister or Secretary of the Urban Development Department. The procedure is as follows:
- Preparation of Chits: The Official prepare a list of eligible categories based on historical rotation. For instance, if the previous term was 'Open,' that category may be excluded or deprioritised in order to ensure that every group gets an oppotunity.
- The Public Draw: In a transparent public ceremony, the categories are written on a piece of paper and is folded and placed in a glass jar or box.
- The Selection: Traditionally, a child is called to pick a chit from the jar. This ensures that the chit is picked at random. The category written on the selected chit becomes the official reservation for the mayoral term.
- Official Notification: Once the draw is complete, the UDD issues a formal gazette notification.
The lottery result dictates which corporators can contest the election. If the post is reserved for an ST woman, only an elected corporator meeting, both criteria can run. Following the notification, the Municipal Commissioner will call a special meeting of the 227 elected corporators. The Mayor is then elected through a show of hands, requiring a simple majority of 114 votes.
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