Mumbai is set to get a new mayor today as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) holds its mayoral election at the civic headquarters in south Mumbai.
BJP corporator Ritu Tawde is expected to be elected as the next mayor, with Shiv Sena`s Sanjay Ghadi as deputy mayor under the BJP-Shiv Sena (Mahayuti) alliance. Both candidates filed their nominations earlier this month and are likely to be elected unopposed, given the Mahayuti`s clear majority in the 227-member house following the January 2026 civic polls.
In photos from mid-day, BJP-Shiv Sena alliance flags and banners were seen going up in the Fort area near the BMC headquarters on Tuesday evening, signalling preparations for today`s event. The visuals captured the political atmosphere in south Mumbai ahead of the voting.
Tawde, a two-time corporator from Ghatkopar East (Ward 132), will become Mumbai`s eighth woman mayor and the first from BJP in nearly four decades. Ghadi, a Shiv Sena corporator from Ward 5 who defected from Sena (UBT) to the Eknath Shinde-led faction, is the deputy mayor nominee.
Sanjay Ghadi has pitched for stronger powers for the mayor and deputy mayor roles, describing them as largely ceremonial with limited authority over budgets, officials, and administration — powers that rest mainly with the state-appointed municipal commissioner. He plans to write to the urban development department (headed by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde) seeking greater delegation to elected representatives for better resolution of citizen grievances.
The mayoral tenure is 2.5 years, while the deputy mayor post is for 15 months with rotation. The election follows the first BMC polls in Mumbai after the 2022 Shiv Sena split. BJP emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, followed by Shinde`s Sena with 29. Sena (UBT) won 65, MNS 6, Congress 24, and others the rest.
The BMC, with a Rs 74,450 crore budget for 2025-26, has been under a state administrator since March 2022. The mayor`s post was reserved for a woman from the open category via lottery last month.
Today`s election is expected to be a formality unless last-minute changes occur, marking a new chapter in Mumbai`s civic governance under the Mahayuti alliance.
