Mumbai BMC Mayor to be a Woman, BJP to Decide Candidate Amidst Strong Contenders

The race for Mumbai's Mayor position has intensified following the BMC elections, with a lottery system determining that the next Mayor will be a woman. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) hold a majority in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with 118 out of 227 corporators. While this ensures they can elect their preferred candidate, the specific woman corporator to lead the city remains a subject of speculation. The Mayor's post has been reserved for an 'Open Category Woman' this term, meaning any elected female corporator, regardless of caste, is eligible. Several BJP women corporators are being considered, with Tejaswini Ghosalkar, wife of the late Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar, emerging as a strong contender. Ghosalkar, a former Shiv Sena corporator who recently joined the BJP, had won from Ward No. 1. Other prominent names in the running include Rani Dwivedi, Seema Shinde, Jigisha Shah, Shweta Korgaonkar, and Shilpa Sangure. The BJP has a total of 49 women corporators, while the Shinde faction has 19, making the final selection a significant political maneuver.