BJP's 5 Frontrunners For Mumbai Mayor's Post After Mega BMC Victory

After the BJP-led alliance's grand victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, all eyes are on the mayoral poll. Besides Mumbai, mayors will be elected for 28 other cities as well in Maharashtra, where local body elections were held last week. Several such cities would get women mayors.

A reservation lottery has disrupted the equations for many prominent figures in the run-up to the mayoral elections, opening doors to new faces. The reservations for the mayors' posts in 29 municipal corporations have now been announced, showing women candidates as frontrunners in 15 of those municipal corporations.

In Mumbai, the mayoral post is reserved for a woman from the general category. Here, the BJP has emerged as the largest party, winning 89 out of 227 seats, while the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena has won 29 seats. After crossing the majority mark (114), the question now remains whether the mayor will be from the BJP or the Shinde Sena.

Here are five BJP frontrunners for the mayoral polls for BMC:

Ritu Tawade, 53, is among the major candidates being considered for the top BMC post. She has won the election for the second time from Ghatkopar (Ward 132). A young Maratha face, she won from a Gujarati-majority area that speaks volumes about her popularity. Within the party, she is considered a strong contender for the mayoral post.

Alka Kerkar, 73, is one of the most experienced and loyal leaders of the BJP. Elected from Ward 98 (Bandra-Khar-Santacruz West), she will be serving her fourth term as a corporator. Previously, she has served as a deputy mayor, which could work to her advantage.

Tejasvi Ghosalkar, 38, had switched to the BJP from Shiv Sena (UBT) just before the elections. She secured a massive victory from Dahisar, winning her seat by a margin of 10,755 votes. She is the wife of the late Abhishek Ghosalkar and the daughter-in-law of former MLA Vinod Ghosalkar.

The names of Rajshree Shirwadkar and Sheetal Gambhir are also being discussed in BJP circles in Mumbai. While Shirwadkar is known as a strong and experienced party worker, Gambhir possesses considerable political experience required for the top role.

Besides Mumbai, the BJP and its allies also secured a decisive victory in the municipal corporations in Pune, Thane, and Nagpur.

In Pune, too, the mayor's post is reserved for a woman from the general category.

The frontrunners include Varsha Tapkir, who scored a hat-trick of wins from Khadakwasla; Swarada Bapat, daughter-in-law of the late veteran leader Girish Bapat; Ranjana Tilekar, mother of MLA Yogesh Tilekar and a five-time corporator; and Manjusha Nagpure, who holds considerable weight in the party. Mansi Deshpande and Nivedita Ekbote are also in the race.

In Thane, a stronghold of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the mayor's post is reserved for the Scheduled Castes category. Shinde's party won 75 seats here, while the BJP bagged 28 seats. Here, the names of Padma Bhagat, Vanita Ghogre, Vimal Bhoir, and Aarti Gaikwad from the Shinde Sena are being discussed for the mayor's post, while Darshana Jankar and Ganesh Kamble are also considered strong contenders. 

In Nagpur, where the mayor's post is reserved for a woman from the general category, those leading in the race to the top position include Shivani Dani Wakhare, Ashwini Jichkar, Vishakha Mohod, Manisha Atkare, Santosh Ladda, and others.