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New Delhi: With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results declared and the Mahayuti alliance emerging victorious, intense political maneuvering has begun over who will occupy the prestigious mayor's post in India's financial capital. The focus has now shifted to the upcoming reservation lottery by the state's Urban Development Department, expected to take place next week, possibly on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The lottery will determine the category (general, OBC, SC, ST, women, etc.) from which the mayor will be elected in the BMC and other municipal corporations across Maharashtra. Leaders from both the BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) are speaking cautiously while staking their claims.
The BJP, which won 89 seats, is internally deliberating and preparing to assert its right to the mayor's position. Meanwhile, several leaders from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena are pushing for a power-sharing formula of "two-and-a-half years each, " with the BJP holding the post for the first half of the term and Shiv Sena for the remaining period.
A key meeting of the Shiv Sena's 29 elected corporators took place at the Taj Lands End Hotel in Bandra, where the demand for the two-and-a-half-year formula was reportedly discussed internally.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Shaina NC said, "The mayor of Mumbai will be from the Mahayuti. We hope that a Marathi woman will get the opportunity to become Mumbai’s mayor. After 25 years, the Mahayuti will have a mayor. Now Mumbai has only two ‘bhaaus’—Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde."
The strong partnership between Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and CM Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) remains central to the Mahayuti alliance's strategy.
BJP Mumbai president Amit Satam affirmed that the mayor would be from the Mahayuti alliance, while cabinet minister Nitesh Rane said that Mumbai’s mayor would be a Hindu Marathi.
The opposition, including leaders from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), has raised concerns over the delay in announcing the reservation. Former mayor Kishori Pednekar questioned why the reservation, usually declared before elections, has not been announced even after the results. Similarly, former mayor Vishakha Raut noted that this is a pre-election process and criticized the delay, adding that the BJP is unlikely to accept the two-and-a-half-year formula proposed by Shinde.
