From 2017 to 2026: Assets of several BMC poll candidates see steep jump

Mumbai: Several prominent candidates in the upcoming Mumbai civic polls, including former mayor Kishori Pednekar, have declared a sharp rise in assets since 2017, according to affidavits uploaded by the State Election Commission.

As many as 1,700 candidates are in the fray for the 227-ward Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled on January 15.

Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate and former city mayor Kishori Pednekar, contesting from Lower Parel (ward 199) in central Mumbai, has declared total assets of Rs 5.26 crore, a 226 per cent increase from Rs 1.61 crore in 2017.

Pednekar, who served as Mumbai mayor from 2019 to 2022, has declared immovable and movable assets of Rs 4.69 crore and Rs 57 lakh, respectively.

Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) candidate Samadhan Sarvankar, son of former MLA Sada Sarvankar and seeking a second term, has declared assets of Rs 46.59 crore, a steep rise of 394 per cent from Rs 9.43 crore in 2017.

The Sena candidate, who has listed his profession as business, has immovable assets of Rs 40.59 crore, along with substantial movable assets, as per the affidavit.

Former MLA Yamini Jadhav (Shiv Sena candidate from Mazagaon area ward 209), wife of former corporator and ex-chairman of BMC's standing committee, Yashwant Jadhav, has Rs 14.57 crore of assets, including immovable properties of Rs 11.28 crore and movable properties of Rs 3.28 crore.

In 2024, when she contested the Maharashtra assembly elections, she had declared total assets of Rs 10.10 crore, along with loans of Rs 52 lakh from financial institutions.

Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawali's daughter, Geeta Gawali, who is contesting from the Byculla-Agripada area (ward 212) and seeking another term, has declared assets of Rs 7.26 crore, including Rs 4.70 crore in immovable properties, compared to Rs 3.38 crore during the 2019 assembly polls.

Her younger sister, Yogita Gawali (ward 207), who is contesting civic elections for the first time from the Chinchpokli-Byculla area (ward 207), has declared assets of Rs 3.65 crore, including Rs 1.19 crore in movable assets.

Neil Somaiya (35), former corporator and son of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, has declared total assets worth Rs 9.89 crore, a 400 per cent rise against Rs 1.99 crore in 2017. His assets include Rs 5.72 crore and Rs 4.16 crore in movable and immovable properties, respectively, as per the affidavit.

Prabhakar Shinde, another prominent BJP leader in the BMC, has assets of Rs 17.63 crore, compared to Rs 11.9 crore in 2017 (48 per cent rise).

Former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Sachin Padwal, contesting from the Sewri area (ward 206) and seeking a second term, has declared assets worth Rs 5.4 crore, up from Rs 65.06 lakh nine years ago, a rise of over 700 per cent. He has immovable properties of Rs. 3.54 crore in immovable properties.

Tejasvini Ghosalkar, who recently joined the BJP after quitting Shiv Sena (UBT) and is contesting from ward 2 in the Dahisar area, has declared assets of Rs 5.15 crore, as against Rs 25.82 lakh in 2017.

Congress candidate from ward 1 in Dahisar, Sheetal Mhatre, has shown total assets of Rs 4.27 crore, compared to Rs 17.29 lakh in the last civic polls. She has declared immovable and movable assets of Rs 1.22 crore and Rs 3.05 crore, respectively.

The last date for filing the nomination papers was December 30. While the affidavits of several candidates contesting the January 15 civic polls have been uploaded on the BMC's website, those of some mominees were not published till late Wednesday night.

The SEC has also uploaded the documents of those who have either withdrawn from the poll race or whose nomination has been rejected during the scrutiny process.

This includes the affidavit of former deputy mayor and businessman Babubhai Bhavanji, who declared total assets of Rs 31.44 crore, up from Rs 8.23 lakh in 2017, as he had sought to contest the election from ward 192.