BJP’s Ritu Tawde Elected Mumbai Mayor Unopposed
Ms. Tawde assumed office as Mumbai’s 78th Mayor at the BMC headquarters in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – Shiv Sena chief – who both congratulated the newly elected leaders: Reports
MUMBAI: In a landmark development for Mumbai’s civic politics, BJP corporator Ritu Tawde on Wednesday was elected unopposed as the mayor of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). It is the first time in four decades that a Mumbai mayor has been chosen from the BJP, ending the Thackeray family's 25-year dominance over the richest civic body. Alongside Tawde, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi was also elected as the city’s deputy mayor.
Ms. Tawde assumed office as Mumbai’s 78th Mayor at the BMC headquarters in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – Shiv Sena chief – who both congratulated the newly elected leaders.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mr. Fadnavis said, “Ms. Tawde is experienced and knows the pulse of people. As a mayor, she will fulfill dreams of the common Mumbaikar. We are celebrating the centenary year of Balasaheb Thackeray and we will fulfil his dreams.”
Eknath Shinde said, “I thank Mumbaikars, and they voted for Mahayuti and want development. I congratulate Ritu Tawde and Sanjay Ghadi. Both are efficient and experienced. Mumbaikars were kept away from development for 25 years (under the Sena UBT rule in BMC). We will fulfil the dreams of Balasaheb Thackeray, who wanted houses for slum dwellers. We will give good roads, water and also make Mumbai drug-free.”
In her inaugural speech, Ms. Tawde pledged transparent, people-centric governance, prioritising cleanliness, safety, women’s empowerment, youth employment, senior citizen care, and digital, AI-driven administration.
Identifying herself as ‘Marathi Mayor,’ she added, “CM Devendraji Fadnavis fulfilled the promise given to Mumbaikars that the BMC Mayor would be a Marathi, and today I stand before you all in this historic hall as the Marathi Mayor.”
“My goal will be to provide transparent, development-oriented, people-welfare administration. Making our city clean, beautiful, safe, and modern will be our priority. We are determined to implement effective schemes for women empowerment, employment opportunities for youth, care for senior citizens, and for the poor and needy. Digital systems and AI (artificial intelligence) will be used to provide corruption-free administration. I would like to assure you that service will be given more importance than politics,” she said.
Ms. Tawde is the eighth woman mayor in Mumbai and the second BJP mayor to get elected as the first citizen of Mumbai after Prabhakar Pai, who served in the post from 1982 to 1983.
In the BMC polls to the 227-member civic body, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while its ally, Shiv Sena, won 29 seats. With a combined strength of 118 corporators, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured the mayor’s post comfortably.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997, won 65 seats, while its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), won six and one seat, respectively.
The BMC is the country's richest civic body, with its budget for the 2025-26 pegged at Rs 74,450 crore.