New Delhi (India) February 7:On Saturday the Bharatiya Janata Party named Ghatkopar corporator Ritu Tawde as its mayoral candidate for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam reportedly made the announcement at the civic headquarters with senior party leaders and corporators.
Ritu Tawde's Journey: From Congress to BJP
Tawde previously served as the Chairperson of the BMC's Education Committee. An authority in community-based and administrative settings, she has long served in a variety of roles in Mumbai's eastern suburbs.
Ritu Tawde is a dual corporator from Ghatkopar who has been a corporate representative from Mumbai as well. She left the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2012.
Tawde as a Eastern Suburbs Leader
She serves for Ward 132 and is considered a top-level corporator and a dominant, assertive Marathi face of the party. Tawde, who represents Mumbai’s eastern suburbs, which the BJP plans to help gain a deeper political presence in. Her name has been one of the party’s front seekers for the position of Mumbai mayor.
Shiv Sena Backs Sanjay Ghadi for Deputy Mayor
Shiv Sena, the party’s ally in the Mahayuti, have stated that Sanjay Ghadi is the candidate for deputy mayor. Ms. Tawde and Mr. Ghadi were among the candidates that filed their nominations at the municipal secretary’s station amid Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, BJP’s Mumbai unit chief Amit Satam, former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale and representatives of other leaders in Mahayuti.
Mahayuti's 118 Corporators Ensure Smooth February 11 Victory
The official mayoral election will be held on February 11, it is mostly a procedural formality as the BJP–Shinde-led coalition is assured to win both seats supported by the presence of 118 corporators in the 227-member civic House.
BJP claimed 89 seats and Shiv Sena, 29 seats in the polls to the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
BMC Election Breakdown
With 118 corporators combined the ruling alliance is comfortably above the halfway mark at 114 and is well poised to secure the mayor’s post.
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which has been ruling the civic body since 1997, gained 65 seats, and its allies that included Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) gained six and one seat, respectively. The Congress took 24 seats, AIMIM eight, NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) three, and Samajwadi Party two among other parties.