As Mumbai Headquarters The 78th mayor was reserved for a candidate On Thursday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) records show that in the last two decades, since 2007, Mumbai has had six different mayors, of which four were women.
This year, Bombay For the eighth time there will be a female mayor, of whom seven were elected only after the reservation of the position of mayor in the civic body was introduced in 1994.
Before that, the BMC had only had one female mayor since 1931, the year the appointment of female mayor was officially introduced in the civic body. Previously, this position was named President of the Corporation (1887-1931) and President (1873-1887).
The first female mayor of Mumbai and beyond…
According to civic records, Mumbai’s first mayor was a social worker-turned-politician, Sulochana Modi, from the Congress Party, who was elected in 1956, when she served for a year. During her tenure, Modi was known for expanding the jurisdiction of the BMC by bringing the extended suburban belt that includes the present Bandra to Dahisar area in the western suburbs and Kurla to Mulund in the eastern suburbs under the administration of the civic body. It was also during this tenure that Mumbai’s major hydroelectric power and drinking water supply project, now known as Vaitarna Scheme, was conceived and work on implementing this project began the following year. This project involved the creation of the Vaitarna Dam, which is an important part of Mumbai’s water security. After her term as mayor of Mumbai, Modi continued her time as a social worker and, in 1973, the government of India awarded her the Padma Shri.
After Modi’s term ended in 1957, the BMC did not see any female mayor for 37 years and it was not until 1994 when Congress’s Nirmala Prabhavalkar became the maximum city’s second mayor.
After her tenure, Prabhavalkar became the chief officer of the social change study center (CSSC) and also served on the National Commission for Women (NCW).
“In the period between early and mid-20th century there were not many women leaders who entered urban politics as the administrative structure within all major political parties was patriarchal in nature. Although women party workers were there, however, they did not get a stable platform,” political analyst Dr Surendra Jondhale told the indian express.
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“This dynamic changed after 1975, after the United Nations (UN) declared the year as the year of women. We also had a female prime minister during that time like Indira Gandhi. These incidents catapulted the need to introduce reservation for women in local body polls,” Jondhale said.
Exposing scams to become Covid warriors, how female mayors led from the front
In the last three decades, Mumbai has had six female mayors. Of them, mayors like Snehal Ambekar and Kishori Pednekar became popular for being at the forefront during times of trials, while leaders like Vishakha Raut are known among citizens for being one of the key faces of their party.
In 1997, Vishakha Raut of the undivided Shiv Sena became the party’s first female mayor. Civic records show that Raut became mayor only during her first time as a corporation and served as the first citizen of Mumbai for a period of one year. Later during the 1999 assembly elections, Raut was elected MLA in the state assembly and from 2010 onwards Raut served as the deputy leader of her party. In 2017, she was re-elected as a corporator again. Today it is one of the corporations with the longest history in the municipal corporation.
In 2014, Snehal Ambekar of the undivided Shiv Sena was nominated as mayor during her first term as a corporator. One of the key takeaways from his tenure includes exposing the road scam. The Rs 352 crore scam uncovered massive negligence, shoddy work and links between corporations and private contractors at BMC. The investigation into this issue was launched after Ambekar wrote a confidential letter to the then municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, asking him to initiate an investigation.
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“The post of mayor is gender-neutral and should not be seen through the lens of any gender or category. The reason I discovered the roadside scam was only because I could see how public money was being exploited and someone had to hit those who were involved in this shoddy practice with a whip,” Ambekar told the Indian Express.
After her tenure, Ambekar continued her tenure as an elected corporator and was re-elected again in 2017. For this year’s civic elections, Ambekar said she voluntarily informed her party that she does not want to contest as she wanted to make way for new candidates.
The last acting mayor of Mumbai, Kishori Pednekar, who served from 2020 to 2022, was known for being at the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. During the pandemic, Pednekar, who worked as a nurse before entering electoral politics in 2002, was seen donning her nursing attire and visiting Covid-19 treatment facilities and giant centres. Pednekar belonged to the undivided Sena and after the vertical split of the party, he joined the UBT faction of the party.
“For any mayor, it is important that he works in a way that sets an example. During the outbreak of the pandemic, I realized that it is my duty as a first citizen to stay out on the road working for the people, instead of staying at home and maintaining social distancing,” Pednekar told Express. In the recent civic elections, Pednekar was re-elected from her Worli constituency and will serve as party leader in the house.
Mayors elected so far
Sulochana Modi —- 1956 — Congress
Nirmala Prabhavalkar —- 1994 — Congress
Vishakha Raut – 1997 – Undivided Shiv Sena
Shubha Raul – 2007 – Shiv Sena undivided
Shraddha Jadhav – 2009 – Shiv Sena undivided
Snehal Ambekar – 2014 – Undivided Shiv Sena
Kishori Pednekar – 2020 – Undivided Shiv Sena