4 minutes of readingFebruary 12, 2026 12:11 pm IST
Ritu Tawde of the Bharatiya Janata Party was elected unopposed as the 78th mayor of Mumbai on Tuesday, marking the end of nearly four years of administrative rule in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in a session marred by sloganeering, heated exchanges between the ruling alliance and the opposition, and walkouts by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi was elected unopposed as the city’s deputy mayor.
Tawde’s elevation ends the administrator regime imposed on March 8, 2022, after the general body was dissolved following the postponement of local body elections in Maharashtra. She becomes the eighth mayor of Bombay and only the second BJP leader to hold the position since the mayoralty was formally instituted in the BMC in 1931.
In his first speech after taking office, Tawde outlined his priorities for the city, reiterating the focus on action against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the promotion of the Marathi language and culture. “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “You have promised a Marathi mayor, and today I, a Marathi, have taken over as mayor of this iconic House,” she said.
Fadnavis attends the ceremony along with the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and senior Mahayuti leaders including BJP MLA Ameet Satam, Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale and cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha.
Tawde also spoke about plans to strengthen Marathi cultural initiatives through the civic body. “Though there is a Marathi language department in the BMC, the department will also work more to promote the language. The corporation will work and support in promoting Marathi language and art…we will also build a special theater for Marathi films, while all cinemas will be renovated on the lines of Ravindra Natya Mandir,” he said.
The proceedings witnessed tense moments as the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress objected to the appointment of BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani as session president. BJP corporators raised slogans of “Modi Modi”, while opposition members responded with chants of “Thackeray Thackeray”.
“We have many top businessmen among us. Shraddha Jadhav has been elected for the seventh time. All businessmen from all parties will work together for the development of the city, but we are opposed to the commissioner being placed on the bench as president instead of our top businessmen as stipulated in the rule,” said Kishori Pednekar, Leader of the Opposition in the House.
Story continues below this ad.
Responding to the objections, Gagrani said since the civic body had been under one administrator for the last four years, the state government had tasked him to preside over the first session. A senior civic official told The indian express That while the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act traditionally provides for the outgoing mayor or senior corporator to act as chairman, a new provision introduced after the imposition of the administrator rule in 2022 allowed the commissioner to take over the role at the first meeting.
“Since the house meets after four years of administrator rule, the commissioner who was playing the role of administrator took charge of the chairman. This new provision was incorporated into the law after the administrator government came into effect in 2022,” an official said.
Tensions continued during the session, with Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators staging a walkout during Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi’s address. Ghadi, who was previously part of the undivided Shiv Sena, had joined the Eknath Shinde-led faction after the party split.
