Mumbai’s woman mayorship: Lottery system and controversy explained

Mumbai’s adjacent ‘first citizen’ volition beryllium a woman from the unfastened category, holding the mayoral bureau successful Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the upcoming word of 2.5 years, stated Maharashtra Urban Development Department (UDD) connected Thursday (January 22, 2026), pursuing the preservation lottery process.

This paves mode for the governmental parties to present formally denote their candidates for the mayoral position. The BMC and the different 28 Municipal Corporations (MC) are apt to person a mayor, the city’s apical post, successful the coming week.

Rotation method

The process was completed using the rotation method. So, if the erstwhile politician was from an unfastened category, past that class whitethorn beryllium excluded, ensuring that the presumption is reserved for different group. 

Out of 29 municipal corporations (MCs), 1 station has been reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, 3 MCs for the Scheduled Caste (SC) class (including 2 for women), 8 for OBC posts (including 4 for women) and 17 MCs volition person mayors from the wide class (of which 9 seats are for women), arsenic per the UDD official. 

“Using the circular and Marathi letters nether the lottery system, the preservation for the politician presumption successful each 29 municipal corporations was done,” said Minister of State for Urban Development, Madhuri Misal, adding that 15 MCs volition person women mayors. Ms. Misal was contiguous during the lottery process conducted astatine Mantralay successful Mumbai. 

Lottery system

The lottery strategy is simply a procedural mechanics to instrumentality rotational preservation mandated successful section bodies nether the 74th Constitutional Amendment.

The preservation lottery has been pending since the civic assemblage predetermination results were declared connected January 16. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured 118 seats successful Mumbai — crossing the halfway people of 114 corporators — has the precocious manus connected appointing their politician for India’s richest civic body, portion the Shiv Sena (UBT) was keen connected securing the mayoral station if the station was reserved for a Scheduled Tribe (ST), arsenic the enactment had eligible candidates. 

Objection implicit Mumbai successful the wide class pool

Former politician Kishori Pednekar, who is the person of Shiv Sena (UBT)’s recently elected corporators, objected to the placement of the Mumbai municipal corp successful the unfastened women class alternatively of the OBC category, arsenic the city’s past politician was from the unfastened women category. Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders staged a walkout aft the medication declined to intervene, stating that their objections would beryllium addressed lone aft the lottery process was completed. 

“The caller politician should person been from the OBC class alternatively of the unfastened category, arsenic the past 2 metropolis mayors were from the unfastened category. The ST class was excluded from the lottery system,” said Ms. Pednekar, alleging the lottery process was “fixed”.

Congress Legislature Party person Vijay Wadettiwar besides slammed authorities for conducting a lottery “in an opaque manner”. 

In 2017 and 2019, BMC’s mayors were appointed from the wide category. As per the rotation method, the BMC station was expected to beryllium reserved nether the SC, ST oregon OBC category. Ms Pednekar highlighted that the caller regularisation of having 3 ST corporators to get that preservation was besides imposed deliberately, arsenic the Uddhav faction has 2 ST corporators successful BMC. 

Shiv Sena (UBT) won some the reserved seats for STs — ward numbers 53 and 121. Jitendra Valvi, defeating the Shinde Sena’s Ashok Khandve, won ward 53, and Priyadarshini Thackeray won ward 121, defeating Pratima Khopde from the Shinde Sena. 

Misal dismisses objections

In effect to the allegation, Ms. Misal dismissed the objection, saying, “The process was followed. We requested them to fto the process complete, and their objection volition beryllium resolved thereafter. However, they wanted Mumbai to autumn nether a definite class arsenic per their will, which did not happen. Besides, Brihanmumbai did not travel alphabetically successful OBC, truthful it was enactment successful the unfastened category.”

BJP Mumbai president Amit Satam besides slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) for not knowing the regulations and asked them to survey the circular of the UDD for objections implicit ST reservations.

“In the lawsuit of the OBC category, Mumbai was successful 17th spot connected the database of MC curated successful alphabetical order. Probably aft 2.5 years successful the 2nd tenure, BMC volition person the OBC post,” helium added.

UDD’s rationale

According to the UDD, since determination is simply a proviso of 27% preservation for OBCs, 8 retired of the 29 MCs are reserved.

At present, lone 3 MCs person ne'er been reserved for OBCs. If these MCs are not reserved for the ST oregon SC categories, they shall beryllium reserved for the OBC.

The remainder of the posts for the OBC volition beryllium reserved by arranging them successful Marathi alphabetical bid from the remaining MCs.

The UDD stated that to find the preservation for the SC oregon ST category, the fig of members from that class successful that MC indispensable beryllium astatine slightest three. 

Reservation successful different MCs

The lottery for the preservation of the mayor’s station successful 29 municipal corporations successful the State reserved 15 MCs for women from assorted categories. 

The MC reserved for ST is Kalyan-Dombivli, and those for the Scheduled Caste are Thane (general), Jalna (women), and Latur (women). For the lottery system, the MCs for the SC and ST categories were shortlisted based connected the MC having the highest colonisation of SC and ST, considering the 2011 census. 

Under the OBC category, Jalgaon, Chandrapur, Ahilyanagar and Akola MCs were reserved for women, portion Panvel, Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur and Ulhasnagar were reserved nether the wide category. 

Prominent MCs successful the State — Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Brihanmumbai, Navi Mumbai, Dhule, Nanded-Waghala, Malegaon and Mira-Bhayandar — fell nether the wide women reservation, portion Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Amravati, Vasai-Virar, Solapur, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhiwandi-Nizampur are reserved for the wide category. 

How reservations are alloted

All these reservations were allotted aft officials prepared chits with the names of the MCs, folded and placed them successful a solid box.

In the archetypal round, the chit for the ST class was drawn; successful the 2nd round, the chits for the SC class were drawn.

In the 3rd round, the chits for the OBC class were drawn based connected 27% preservation provision, and successful the last round, the chits for the wide class were drawn. In the SC, OBC, and General categories, 50% preservation was fixed to women. 

Mayoral election

After the process is completed, the UDD volition contented a ceremonial gazette notification.

The Municipal Commissioner volition telephone a peculiar gathering of each 227 recently elected corporators and behaviour a concealed ballot to amusement of hands to elite the mayor.