3 minutes of readingBombayUpdated: February 3, 2026 09:08 pm IST
New mayors were elected in three municipal corporations of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Tuesday: Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane and Mira-Bhayandar.
With the new leadership taking over, elected representatives returned after a four to six year gap in these corporations, which were governed by state-appointed administrators.
In Thane Municipal Corporation, Shiv Sena corporator Sharmila Pimpalkar was elected mayor while BJP’s Krishna Patil was elected deputy mayor. Both were elected here too without opposition in a special meeting held in the civic auditorium.
The election was supervised by District Collector Dr Shrikrishnanath Panchal.
The Thane Municipal Corporation had been headed by an appointed officer for the last four years.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP have decided to share the mayor’s post and each party will have a term of 15 months.
In Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, Deputy Chief Minister Advocate Harshali Thawil-Chaudhary Eknath ShindeBJP-led Shiv Sena was elected mayor, while BJP’s Rahul Damle was elected deputy mayor. Both were elected unopposed as no other candidates filed nominations.
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The decision was taken in a special meeting chaired by district collector Anchal Goyal.
The corporation had been under the governance of an administrator since 2020, after the term of the previously elected House ended. The elections were delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting saw heated discussions between members of the ruling party and the opposition. Shiv Sena councilor Sachin Pote made comments against Shiv Sena (UBT), leading to shouts and protests inside the House.
Later, the members remained silent in memory of former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a planning accident last week.
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In Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, BJP corporator Dimple Mehta was elected mayor with 79 votes, while BJP’s Dhruvkishor Patil was elected deputy mayor with the same number of votes.
Congress candidate Rubina Sheikh received 16 votes.
Mira-Bhayandar’s election took place amid protests outside the municipal corporation building where groups like the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena opposed Mehta’s election, saying the city should have a Marathi-speaking mayor. Despite protests, the vote went ahead as planned.
Reacting to the protests, BJP MLA Pratap Sarnaik said similar objections were not raised earlier when non-Marathi leaders were elected in the region.
He said the focus should remain on civic works.