Maharashtra civic polls: Who will be Mumbai's new mayor?

Mumbai: Who will be the Mayor of Mumbai, one of the most prestigious civic posts dating back to the British era?

The answer may take a couple of weeks, as the new Mayor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is elected and formally assumes charge at the civic headquarters near Azad Maidan, opposite the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

If pre-poll arithmetic and the current trajectory of Maharashtra politics give any indication, the BJP-led Maha Yuti is poised to secure the mayoralty.

Going strictly by numbers, the BJP appears well placed to finally clinch the Mumbai Mayor’s post — a position that has eluded the party for decades. In the 227-member BMC, 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, has won 29 seats, taking the Maha Yuti tally to 118 — comfortably above the halfway mark.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, another BJP ally which contested separately, has secured three seats. If added, the alliance’s strength rises to 121.

On the Opposition side, the front led by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has won 65 seats. Its allies — the Raj Thackeray-led MNS with six seats and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) with one — take the Opposition bloc’s total to 72. The Congress, which contested independently, has won 24 seats.

Meanwhile, the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has secured eight seats, while the Samajwadi Party has won two.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is currently leading a delegation to the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos from January 17 to 24. A final call on the mayoral post is expected only after his return.

In the interim, Shinde has adopted a no-risk strategy and directed all his party’s BMC corporators to stay together at a five-star hotel in Mumbai to prevent any political poaching.

Even in a hypothetical scenario where the entire Opposition — the Maha Vikas Aghadi along with other parties — comes together to block the BJP-led alliance, their combined strength would reach 106, still eight short of the majority mark.

After meeting newly elected Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators at Matoshree, Uddhav Thackeray made a cryptic remark: “If Deva wishes, we can have our Mayor in Mumbai,” he said, leaving room for interpretation.

While ‘Deva’ literally means God, Fadnavis is popularly known as ‘Deva Bhau’.

Responding to the remark, Fadnavis said: “What does ‘Deva’ mean — me or God? Because I am also called Deva. It is the will of God that the Mayor will be from the Maha Yuti. We will take the decision together — Shinde and others,” he said, adding that there was no dispute within the alliance.

It must be noted that the mayoral face cannot be finalised until the reservation category for the post is decided through a lottery conducted by the Urban Development Department, which is expected to take place next week.