The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated senior corporator Ritu Tawde as its candidate for the upcoming Mumbai Mayor election, while its ally Shiv Sena has fielded Sanjay Ghadi for the deputy mayor position.
The election will take place at 11:30 am on February 11 at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. This marks the return of a new mayor to Mumbai after a gap of nearly four years.
Tawde, a prominent BJP corporator, brings significant experience in municipal governance. She first represented Ward No. 127 in 2012, and later moved on to represent Ward No. 121 in Ghatkopar in 2017, followed by Ward No. 132 in the 2025 elections.
Tawde has also served as the Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Her USP is that despite being a Maratha, she has been getting elected from a Gujarati dominated area like Ghatkopar.
According to an NDTV report, her nomination is seen as a strategic move by the BJP to present a 'Marathi Hindu' face, while also rewarding a loyal party member with extensive experience in civic governance.
As per the lottery system, the mayor post of India's richest civic body is reserved for the open category woman corporator. Along with Tawde, other names in consideration were Rajashree Shirvadkar, Sheetal Gambhir Desai, Harshita Narvekar, Alka Kerkar, Swapna Mhatre and Tejasvini Ghosalkar.
BJP leader Amit Satam declared Tawade's name, while Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale announced Ghadi's candidature. Ghadi will serve as deputy mayor for 15 months as the Shiv Sena intends to give an opportunity to four of its corporators by splitting the deputy mayor's term.
In the recently concluded BMC elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, securing 89 out of the 227 seats, while the Shiv Sena won 29 seats. With the ruling alliance surpassing the halfway mark of 114 seats, it is well-positioned to claim the mayor’s post.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 65 seats, while its allies — the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the NCP-SP led by Sharad Pawar — won 6 and 1 seat, respectively. Among other parties, the Congress won 24 seats, the AIMIM took 8, the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) secured 3, and the Samajwadi Party claimed 2 seats.