The BJP officially named its corporator Ritu Tawde as the Mahayuti alliance candidate for the post of Mumbai Mayor on Saturday, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena nominated corporator Sanjay Ghadi for the post of Deputy Mayor.
Meanwhile, former mayor Kishori Pednekar of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and likely candidate for Mumbai mayor’s post said, “We accept the calculations of numbers and have accepted them. Finally, the BJP had to accept a Marathi person who is a Hindu. We will raise questions as the opposition without succumbing to any pressure.”
“The battle that was going on in 2022. Even in that struggle, the tree of the Marathi people planted by Balasaheb Thackeray is standing tall. Who is using the mandate received in Balasaheb’s name for what? The people have seen it. Our fight has always been for the identity of the Marathi people, and it will continue,” Kishori Pednekar said.
Meanwhile, BJP mayoral candidate Ritu Tawde said, “We are sure that my victory in the elections on the 11th will be certain. After 44 years, the BJP has come to power in the municipal corporation. More than 50 corporators of the opposition have not been elected. We are going to break their 25-year rule of corruption. In the hall, all the corporators come together to serve Mumbai’s development; we will discuss those issues. Mumbaikars will see a different change in Mumbai”.
The election for the Mumbai mayor’s post will take place on Wednesday, February 11. The selection of the mayoral category is based on a lottery system introduced after the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which mandates rotational reservation of leadership posts in local bodies. Under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the mayor’s post rotates among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women (both reserved and open), and the general category.
The election is scheduled to take place at Mantralaya (the State Secretariat) in Mumbai, and it will be overseen by the Minister or Secretary of the Urban Development Department.
The election process will begin with the preparation of chits based on “eligible categories” based on historical rotation. For instance, if the previous term was ‘open,’ that category may be excluded or de-prioritised in order to ensure that another community group gets an opportunity.
This will be followed by a public draw, when all “categories” written on pieces of paper are folded and placed in a glass jar or box. Traditionally, a child is then called to pick a chit from the jar to ensure that the chit is picked in a totally random manner.
The “category” written on the selected chit becomes the official “reservation” for the mayoral term. For example, if such a lottery system dictates which corporators can contest the election for the Mayor of Mumbai post. If the post is reserved for a scheduled caste (ST) woman, only an elected corporator who meets both these criteria (has to be a woman and a scheduled caste) can run for election.
After the draw of chits is completed, an official gazette notification is issued by the Urban Development Department. Thereafter, the Municipal Commissioner will call a special meeting of the 227 elected corporators, and finally, these corporators will elect the Mayor of Mumbai from among eligible candidates through a show of hands, requiring a simple majority of 114 votes or hands raised.