Mumbai to get woman BMC mayor as lottery decides civic chiefs

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu) - The political speculations about which category the mayor would belong to after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections came to an end on Thursday. In the lottery conducted as per the reservation cycle, the post of Mumbai Mayor went to the General category (women). Along with Mumbai, the post of Mayor has been reserved for women in Navi Mumbai, Pune and Nashik Municipal Corporations as well after the lottery process. This has made it clear that the command of the major municipal corporations of Maharashtra will now be in the hands of women.

Why was there confusion regarding the post of Mayor?

Actually, the reservation for the post of Mayor is decided after every election through a rotation system, which includes SC, ST, OBC, women and general category. This time BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) together had got 118 seats, but none of these councillors was from SC category. In such a situation, it was feared that if the post of Mayor was reserved for SC category, then the equations could get complicated. However, this suspense ended when the post of Mayor was reserved for women category in the lottery.

Women Mayors Decided in Pune and Nagpur Too

The lottery results have cleared the way for women mayors in major municipal corporations like Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur. Political activity regarding women leadership has intensified in these major cities, including the BMC, the country's richest municipal corporation. Meanwhile, the Uddhav Thackeray faction has alleged that the reservation and rotation process has been twisted in favor of power, to make the path easier for certain prominent figures.

The political implications of the open category:

The shift of the Mumbai mayoral position to the general category (women) is not merely an administrative decision, but also has profound political implications. Now that the caste-based reservation requirement has been removed, all parties can field their strongest and most popular female councilors. With the open category, it is believed that the election will now hinge on face value and political strategy.

The BMC has been a Shiv Sena stronghold for 30 years. The

Shiv Sena has dominated the BMC for the past three decades. Therefore, having a female mayor in the open category could allow the BJP and the Shinde faction to bet on a female candidate with a strong presence in Mumbai.

After the lottery,

candidates will file their nominations as scheduled. The mayor is elected not by the public but by the elected councilors. Voting will take place at a special municipal corporation meeting in the presence of a presiding officer. All parties will issue whips before the election, and any councilor violating the whip may face disqualification. Only the candidate from the majority coalition will reach the mayoral position.

Women's reservation will change the political equation.

With general category women's reservation, parties will no longer be compelled to seek female candidates from a specific category. Strategy, floor management, and political savvy will determine who will occupy the mayoral chairs of major cities like Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.