Mumbai mayor selection process begins, lottery to decide reservation on Jan 22

The Maharashtra government has begun the process to elect mayors in Mumbai and 28 other municipal corporations The lottery to decide reservation for the mayoral posts will be held on January 22 officials said reported the PTIAccording to an order issued by the Urban Development Department the draw of lots will take place at the state secretariat In Maharashtra mayors are elected by corporators but the post is reserved on a rotational basisThe lottery decides whether the mayorrsquos post will be open to the general category or reserved for women Scheduled Castes SC Scheduled Tribes ST or Other Backward Classes OBC Once the category is declared eligible corporators can file their nominations as per the PTIAfter nominations are filed the mayor is elected during a special meeting of the municipal corporation A candidate must secure more than half of the total strength of the House to win the news agency reportedIf no single party has a clear majority political alliances become crucial in deciding the outcome according to the PTIBJP emerges as largest party in MumbaiIn Mumbai the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP emerged as the largest single party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC elections held on January 15 The BJP won 89 of the 227 seats ending nearly 30 years of control by the Thackerayled Shiv Sena over the countryrsquos richest civic bodyThe BJPrsquos ally Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde won 29 seatsPolitical speculation over mayorrsquos postSpeculation over political alignments began after the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT emerged as the second largest party with 65 seats Its ally the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS won six seatsAmong other parties the Congress won 24 seats AIMIM eight Ajit Pawarled NCP three the Samajwadi Party two and the NCP SP one seatThe Ajit Pawarled NCP though part of the BJPled Mahayuti alliance at the state level contested the BMC elections separatelySymbolic importance of mayorrsquos postWhile the mayorrsquos role is largely ceremonial the post holds strong symbolic value as it represents political control of the civic body The mayor presides over important meetings of the municipal corporationKishori Pednekar of Shiv Sena UBT was the last elected mayor of Mumbai before the state government appointed an administrator in 2022Results across Maharashtra civic pollsIn elections held across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra the BJP won the highest number of seats securing 1425 of the 2869 seats Shiv Sena won 399 seats while the NCP secured 167Within the Maha Vikas Aghadi the Congress won the highest number with 324 seats Shiv Sena UBT won 155 seats the MNS 13 NCP Sharadchandra Pawar 36 the BSP six and Independents 19 seatsUnrecognised parties registered with the State Election Commission including the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi won 196 seats The Samajwadi Party and AIMIM together secured 129 seatswith PTI inputs