Mumbai: The race for Mumbai’s next mayor has gathered pace after the Urban Development Department’s lottery draw confirmed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be headed by a woman from the general category in the upcoming term.

With the BJP-led alliance firmly in control of the civic body, attention has now shifted to the party’s internal selection process, where several experienced women corporators are being discussed as frontrunners for the city’s top civic post.

Among the prominent names doing the rounds within party circles are:

Rajshree Shirwadkar – A three-time corporator known for her organisational strength

Alka Kerkar – A three-time corporator with a strong grassroots connect

Harshita Narvekar – A two-time corporator actively involved in civic infrastructure issues

Preeti Seetam – A two-time corporator with growing influence in suburban areas

Yogita Kohli – A two-time corporator recognised for community outreach work

Ritu Tawde – A two-time corporator whose name has generated both excitement and internal debate

Tejasvi Ghosalkar  – Joined the BJP from Shiv Sena (UBT) just before the civic elections and won a massive margin of over 10,700 votes. 

Why the mayor’s post matters this time

The lottery outcome dealt a blow to Shiv Sena (UBT), which had hoped the mayor’s post would be reserved for a Scheduled Tribe woman, as both eligible ST women candidates belonged to the party. Instead, the general category reservation opened the door for BJP’s women leaders, further consolidating the ruling alliance’s advantage

In the January 15 civic polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while the Shiv Sena, led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, won 29 seats, taking the alliance past the halfway mark of 114 required to control the BMC. Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled Mumbai for over two decades, secured 65 seats, while MNS and NCP (SP) won 6 and 1 seats respectively.