After Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) stated that a Marathi person from their alliance should occupy the post, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan claimed that the next Mayor of Mumbai could be a woman who wears a burqa and follows the Muslim faith. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has reacted to Pathan’s statement, questioning the silence of other opposition parties on the issue. He said that Mumbai’s next mayor would be a Marathi Hindu.
“If municipal elections are held in Chennai, people would naturally say that the mayor should be Tamil. Similarly, in Mumbai, the mayor will be Marathi,” CM Fadnavis was quoted as saying by Jansatta. The Hindi outlet further said that when Devendra Fadnavis was asked whether the mayor’s post in Mumbai is reserved for Marathi Hindus, the CM said, “Yes, absolutely.”
BJP leader Kripashankar Singh had reportedly spoken about making efforts to elect a ‘North Indian’ and ‘Hindi-speaking’ mayor in the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). His comments were strongly criticised by the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) and the MNS, bringing the Marathi-non-Marathi debate back to the forefront.
Defending his party leader, Fadnavis then said that North Indians are not outsiders. However, he questioned the selective protests by the opposition and referred to AIMIM leader Pathan’s remark about a ‘burqa-wearing’ Mumbai mayor. Fadnavis said, “After that comment, there was silence from the opposition. That is why we responded by saying that the mayor here will be Hindu and Marathi.”
Amid a heated political debate over who will be Mumbai's next mayor, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded four former mayors and two former deputy mayors, while the BJP has given a ticket to a former deputy mayor, news agency PTI said. Former mayors Kishori Pednekar (Ward 199), Shraddha Jadhav (Ward 202), Vishakha Raut (Ward 191), and Milind Vaidya (Ward 182), along with former deputy mayors Suhas Wadekar (Ward 41) and Hemangi Waralikar (Ward 193), are contesting on the Shiv Sena (UBT) ticket. The BJP has fielded former deputy mayor Alka Kerkar. Shiv Sena (UBT) has also given tickets to close relatives of some former mayors who are not contesting elections themselves.
Elections to the BMC and 28 other civic bodies in the state will be held on 15 January, and the results will be declared the next day.
