<p>Mumbai: The hustling-bustling financial capital of India has once again underlined its cosmopolitan character, with the results of the recently concluded BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bmc">BMC</a>) elections showing that nearly one-third of the elected corporators are non-Marathis, despite an intense campaign centred on the Marathi-manoos plank.</p><p>Of the 227 elected members in the General Body of the country’s richest civic body, 78 corporators (33 per cent) are non-Marathis.</p> .BMC polls | How and when will Mumbai get its new mayor? Lottery and reservation system explained.<p>This figure is broadly in line with past trends: 76 in 2017, 64 in 2012, 74 in 2007 and 71 in 2002. In 1992 and 1997, when the House strength was 221, non-Marathis numbered 68 and 67, respectively. Earlier, in 1972 and 1978 (House strength 140), 59 and 64 non-Marathis were elected, while in 1985 (strength 170), the number stood at 59.</p> .<p>In the 227-member House, where the magic figure is 114, the BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats. Its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, won 29 seats, taking the Maha Yuti tally to 118, while the RPI (A)secured three seats.</p><p>On the Opposition side, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) won 65 seats. Its allies — the Raj Thackeray-led MNS (six) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) (one) — take the Opposition bloc’s strength to 72. The Congress, which contested independently, won 24 seats.</p><p>Among non-Marathi corporators, the BJP tops the list with 38, followed by the Congress (18), AIMIM (8), Shiv Sena (UBT) (6), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) (3), NCP (3), NCP (SP) (2) and MNS (1).</p><p>The trend mirrors the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, where 13 of Mumbai’s 36 MLAs were non-Marathis.</p> .<p>Notably, the Thackeray cousins — Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray of the MNS — placed strong emphasis on Marathi asmita (pride), Marathi-manoos and Marathi-bhasha during the campaign. Both alleged that the BJP was planning to separate Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region from Maharashtra and warned of a so-called “Gujarati takeover”.</p><p>Raj Thackeray, while addressing North Indians, said: “I do not hate Hindi. But if you try to impose it, I will kick you.”The parties also revived old emotive slogans such as “uthao lungi, bajao pungi”, once directed against South Indians.</p> .<p>In a related controversy, Raj dubbed Tamil Nadu BJP vice-president K Annamalai as “rasmalai”, while Uddhav Thackeray referred to him as “kalai” after Annamalai described Bombay as “not a Maharashtra city but an international city”.</p><p>Interestingly, both the Thackeray-led Opposition and the Maha Yuti — comprising the BJP, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the RPI (A) — repeatedly asserted that the next Mayor of Mumbai would be a Marathi, underlining how identity politics cut across party lines in the high-stakes civic battle.</p>
<p>Mumbai: The hustling-bustling financial capital of India has once again underlined its cosmopolitan character, with the results of the recently concluded BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bmc">BMC</a>) elections showing that nearly one-third of the elected corporators are non-Marathis, despite an intense campaign centred on the Marathi-manoos plank.</p><p>Of the 227 elected members in the General Body of the country’s richest civic body, 78 corporators (33 per cent) are non-Marathis.</p> .BMC polls | How and when will Mumbai get its new mayor? Lottery and reservation system explained.<p>This figure is broadly in line with past trends: 76 in 2017, 64 in 2012, 74 in 2007 and 71 in 2002. In 1992 and 1997, when the House strength was 221, non-Marathis numbered 68 and 67, respectively. Earlier, in 1972 and 1978 (House strength 140), 59 and 64 non-Marathis were elected, while in 1985 (strength 170), the number stood at 59.</p> .<p>In the 227-member House, where the magic figure is 114, the BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats. Its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, won 29 seats, taking the Maha Yuti tally to 118, while the RPI (A)secured three seats.</p><p>On the Opposition side, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) won 65 seats. Its allies — the Raj Thackeray-led MNS (six) and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) (one) — take the Opposition bloc’s strength to 72. The Congress, which contested independently, won 24 seats.</p><p>Among non-Marathi corporators, the BJP tops the list with 38, followed by the Congress (18), AIMIM (8), Shiv Sena (UBT) (6), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) (3), NCP (3), NCP (SP) (2) and MNS (1).</p><p>The trend mirrors the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, where 13 of Mumbai’s 36 MLAs were non-Marathis.</p> .<p>Notably, the Thackeray cousins — Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray of the MNS — placed strong emphasis on Marathi asmita (pride), Marathi-manoos and Marathi-bhasha during the campaign. Both alleged that the BJP was planning to separate Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region from Maharashtra and warned of a so-called “Gujarati takeover”.</p><p>Raj Thackeray, while addressing North Indians, said: “I do not hate Hindi. But if you try to impose it, I will kick you.”The parties also revived old emotive slogans such as “uthao lungi, bajao pungi”, once directed against South Indians.</p> .<p>In a related controversy, Raj dubbed Tamil Nadu BJP vice-president K Annamalai as “rasmalai”, while Uddhav Thackeray referred to him as “kalai” after Annamalai described Bombay as “not a Maharashtra city but an international city”.</p><p>Interestingly, both the Thackeray-led Opposition and the Maha Yuti — comprising the BJP, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the RPI (A) — repeatedly asserted that the next Mayor of Mumbai would be a Marathi, underlining how identity politics cut across party lines in the high-stakes civic battle.</p>