The process to determine reservation categories for the mayoral posts across all 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra is underway. The Urban Development Department carried out the lottery draw to decide which category will lead each civic body in the upcoming term. In a major development, the lottery draw has confirmed that Mumbai's Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be headed by a woman of the General category. The lottery determines the category for which the mayor's post will be reserved, such as general, women, SC, ST, and OBC categories. Once the category is announced, eligible candidates file their nominations. Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and 28 other civic bodies in the state were held on January 15.
Uddhav Thackeray faction raises objections and boycotts lottery
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) boycotted the reservation lottery, alleging irregularities in the selection pattern. The faction questioned why the mayoral post was allotted once again to the General category when rotation should have shifted the seat to the OBC or another reserved category. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar claimed that the rules to arrive at this decision were changed without informing anyone. "We condemn the way the procedure (of lottery) was conducted," Pednekar said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) also expressed disappointment that the ST category did not get the mayoral post, which they had been expecting this year. According to existing rules, a municipal corporation with three or fewer seats reserved for the ST category cannot allot the mayor post to the same category. This time, Mumbai had only two ST-reserved seats out of 227, making an ST mayor constitutionally impossible. The final lottery has now officially confirmed that Mumbai will have a woman mayor from the General category.
Here are the categories allotted so far across major municipal corporations:
- Kalyan Dombivli: Scheduled Caste
- Thane: Scheduled Caste (Male)
- Jalna: Scheduled Caste (Female)
- Latur: Scheduled Caste (Female)
- Ichalkaranji: OBC (Male)
- Panvel: OBC (Male)
- Akola: OBC (Female)
- Ahilyanagar: OBC (Female)
- Ulhasnagar: OBC (Male)
- Kolhapur: OBC (Male)
- Chandrapur: OBC (Female)
- Jalgaon: OBC (Female)
Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Elections
In Maharashtra, 29 Municipal Corporations underwent elections on January 15, with counting of votes on January 16. The Mahayuti managed to sweep most of the civic bodies, including the ones in Mumbai, triumphing over the Thackeray brothers; Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, beating the NCP factions despite them coming together to contest elections; Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali and Ulhasnagar. Congress recorded a victory in Latur, claiming 43 seats, while the Sena-UBT and Congress alliance won Parbhani.
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