Several major cities in Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Pune, are set to have women mayors following the completion of the reservation draw for mayoral posts across 29 municipal corporations on Thursday. However, the process has triggered political controversy, with Shiv Sena (UBT) alleging that the quota system was manipulated to favour the ruling alliance.
As per the rotational reservation policy, Mumbai will have a woman mayor from the open category, while Thane and Bhiwandi-Nizampur are expected to have mayors from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.
Sena (UBT) Alleges Reservation Process ‘Fixed’
The Shiv Sena (UBT) raised strong objections to the draw, claiming the reservation exercise lacked transparency. Former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar alleged that rules related to Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservations were altered at the last moment.
“The government changed the reservation rules for the ST category by modifying the minimum representation requirement,” Pednekar said. She further claimed that Mumbai was deliberately kept out of the ST category, as Sena (UBT) has representation from that group in the city.
OBC and Open Category Allocations
According to the draw, mayoral posts in Ichalkaranji, Ahilyanagar, Kolhapur, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Akola, Panvel and Ulhasnagar have been reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
Among these, Chandrapur, Ichalkaranji, Akola and Jalgaon will have women mayors from the OBC category.
In total, 17 municipal corporations will have mayors from the open category, with nine of those posts reserved for women.
Women Mayors in Major Cities
Apart from Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC), Bhiwandi and Dhule will have women mayors from the open category. Other cities set to have women mayors include Navi Mumbai, Malegaon, Nanded and Mira Bhayandar.
Key civic bodies under the open category include Mumbai, Pune, PCMC and Nagpur.
Government Rejects Allegations
Responding to the accusations, Madhuri Misal, Minister of State for the Urban Development Department, who presided over the draw, said the government had noted the objections but rejected claims of wrongdoing.
“The process was conducted strictly as per the rules. The objections raised are without merit,” Misal said, adding that opposition parties were dissatisfied because the reservation outcome did not favour them.
Next Steps in Mayoral Elections
Under the law, mayoral posts must be reserved on a rotational basis for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and women. Once the reservation lottery is completed, the formal election process can begin.
Following the announcement, a special meeting of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be convened to notify corporators of the election schedule. The mayoral elections are expected to take place around January 28 or 29.
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