3 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 3, 2026 21:33 IST
Over 1,400 residents of Bandra area have launched an online petition seeking the nomination of former three-time Congress corporator Asif Zakaria to the presidency. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
Zakaria, who has served as a corporator since 2007, completed three consecutive terms before the elected civic body was dissolved in 2022. He was unable to run for a fourth term after his constituency, Ward No. 101 (Bandra), was reserved for a female candidate. Subsequently, the Congress fielded Raja Rahebar Khan from the adjoining ward number 102, who became the acting corporator of the area.
Following this, residents of Bandra have started a campaign demanding that Zakaria be appointed as designated corporator in the civic body. When contacted by Him indian expressZakaria said, “I am continuously working for my party and whatever the party decides I will welcome.”
The online petition, launched last week, had garnered 1,417 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon, and residents expressed hope that the number of signatories will increase in the coming days.
“Asif Zakaria has been the only person who has worked tirelessly on the ground every day of the year, both officially and unofficially for over a decade for the people living in Bandra. He has a good relationship with the BMC and gets issues resolved quickly and addresses all the complaints raised by citizens,” said Bandra resident Sabita Burges.
City activist Zoru Bhathena echoed similar views and said, “There needs to be adequate representation of educated people in the civic body. The post of an appointed corporator carries the same weight as that of an elected representative and having a corporator like Mr. Zakaria in the house will only help the administration in formulating key policy decisions for the people.”
the choice of BombayThe election of the 78th mayor is scheduled for February 11, when the 227 municipal councilors will vote to elect the mayoral candidate presented by their respective political parties. Next, the corporation council will be officially incorporated into the BMC.
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This term, the BMC will have 10 nominated corporate seats, which will be allocated among political parties based on their performance in municipal polls.
The BJP, which has emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, is expected to receive four nominated seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT), with 65 seats, is likely to get three. The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde (faction), Congress and AIMIM will get one nominated seat each, having bagged 29, 28 and 8 seats, respectively.