The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may announce its mayoral candidate for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday, said sources on Friday. The announcement is likely be held around 9 am following a meeting between BJP corporators at the BMC headquarters in India's financial capital.
According to sources, the corporators of the saffron party will file their applications around 10 am after the announcement is made by BJP's Mumbai unit chief Ameet Bhaskar Satam. It should be mentioned here that election for the mayor's post will be held at noon on February 11 (Wednesday) at the BMC headquarters.
The election to the deputy mayor position will also be held on the same day. As per the power sharing agreement between the BJP and Shiv Sena, the deputy mayor's post will be given to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction.
Who are the frontrunners?
The frontrunner for mayor's post is Rajshree Shirwadkar, who is a three-time BJP corporator. It must be noted that her husband, Rajesh Shirwadkar, is currently serving as the general secretary of BJP's Mumbai unit.
Another name for the mayor's post is Ritu Tawde, who is a three-time corporator from Ghatkopar. Meanwhile, former MLA Suresh Gambhir's daughter Sheetal Gambhir is also among the frontrunners. Gambhir is a two-time corporator from the Mahim area.
BMC election results 2026
The polling for all municipal corporations, including the BMC, was held on January 15 and the results were declared on January 16. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won 118 of the 227-member BMC, which is four more than the majority mark. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), another Mahayuti member which contested the elections alone, also has three seats. Adding its number will increase Mahayuti's tally to 121.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena won 65 seats, Congress 24, Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) six and NCP(SP) just one seat. The Shiv Sena and the MNS had contested the elections in an alliance, while the Congress and the NCP(SP) had gone solo.
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