BJP Breaks Shiv Sena’s 25-Year Hold on Mumbai Mayor’s Office; Ritu Tawde Set to Take Charge
By Tajdar H Zaidi
Mumbai has witnessed a major political shift in its civic administration, with the Bharatiya Janata Party nominating Ritu Tawde as its mayoral pick, ending the Shiv Sena’s uninterrupted 25-year dominance over the post.
Ritu Tawde, a corporator from Ghatkopar, is set to become the new Mayor of Mumbai, marking a watershed moment in the city’s municipal politics.
Tawde brings prior administrative experience to the role, having earlier served as Chairperson of the Education Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The post of Deputy Mayor will go to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shankar Ghadi, who was elected as corporator from Ward No. 5 in the civic elections held on January 15.
Ghadi will serve in the position for 15 months, after which the Shiv Sena plans to rotate the post among four of its corporators as part of an internal power-sharing arrangement.
Ghadi is a prominent leader who had joined the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena, a political realignment that led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
The announcement of Tawde’s candidature was made by BJP leader Amit Satam, while Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale formally declared Ghadi as the party’s choice for Deputy Mayor on Saturday.
In the fiercely contested elections to the 227-member BMC, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while the Shiv Sena secured 29 seats.
Together, the ruling alliance commands the support of 118 corporators—comfortably crossing the halfway mark of 114 and placing it in a strong position to control the mayoral office.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which had governed the civic body since 1997, won 65 seats in the elections. Its allies—the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction)—secured six and one seat, respectively.
Among other parties, the Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) three, and the Samajwadi Party two seats.
The high-stakes civic elections were conducted after a prolonged gap of nine years. During this period, the BMC was administered by a state government-appointed administrator, following the expiry of the previous elected body’s term on March 7, 2022.
The outcome is particularly significant given that the BMC is India’s richest civic body, with a proposed budget of ₹74,450 crore for the 2025–26 financial year.
Control of the municipal corporation is seen as politically crucial ahead of future state and national elections.
With the BJP poised to assume the mayor’s office for the first time in a quarter century, Mumbai’s civic governance is set to enter a new political phase.
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