BMC Election: BJP vs Sena for Mumbai mayor? Check frontrunners, mayor's powers and nomination process

Who will be the new mayor of Mumbai? The question looms hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies swept the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, (BMC) polls on January 16. Speculations are rife on whether the new mayor will be from the BJP or Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, or if the BJP will have the upper hand in choosing a candidate.

But one thing has been made clear — the new Mumbai mayor will be from the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi and “both Hindu and Marathi,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said a week before the civic polls.

As all eyes are on the next Mumbai mayor, some names emerged as the frontrunners for the post. Here's a list of likely candidates for the Mumbai Mayor's post.

According to The Week, several prominent names and new faces from the BJP emerged as potential contenders. They include:

Makarand Narwekar: He won from Cuffe Parade Ward 226. He is the younger brother of Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narweka.

Yogita Sunil Koli: She won Ward 46 in Malad West

Navnath Ban: The BJP’s first-time candidate won from Ward 135, Mankhurd.

Tejasvee Abhishek Ghosalkar: She won the BMC elections from ward number 2 of Dahisar.

The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) is reportedly discussing Ankit Prabhu, son of former mayor Sunil Prabhu, for the Mumbai mayor's post, reported The Week.

When will Mumbai's new mayor be appointed?

According to the Free Press Journal, the mayoral face cannot be finalised until the reservation category of the post is decided through a lottery system.

The mayor’s position is reserved on a rotational basis for the general category, Scheduled Castes, OBCs and women.

The lottery, conducted by the state’s Urban Development Department, will ultimately decide who gets the chair, the report added.

Meanwhile, sources told India TV news that Mumbai is expected to get a new BMC mayor only after January 26, as the formal election process is likely to begin next week.

They reportedly said that CM Devendra Fadnavis is scheduled to leave for the Davos Investment Summit on Friday night and will return on January 25. Therefore, the mayoral election is expected to take place after his return, possibly from January 26 onwards.

As per the report, the BMC Commissioner will formally announce the schedule for the mayor's election.

How is the Mumbai mayor elected?

As per the information on the BMC's website, the Mayor is elected by the Corporation from amongst the councillors. Once a political party or alliance secures at least 114 seats in the BMC elections, it decides who will be the mayor of Mumbai.

The process is similar to that by which the prime minister or the chief ministers are elected — and unlike mayoral elections in some states (for example, Delhi) where separate elections are held for the mayor and deputy mayor's post.

How powerful is the Mumbai mayor?

Mayors have two distinct roles — "the decorative role of representing and upholding the dignity of the city and the functional role of presiding over the deliberations of the Corporation," the BMC says on its website.

The Mayor is seen as the First Citizen. The BMC explains that when the Mayor accords a civic reception or presents a civic address to a Monarch, or a President or a Prime Minister of any country, "he does so in the name of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the citizens of Mumbai."

The mayor is also given a place of prominence at Civic, government and other social functions.

The tenure of the Mayor is two-and-a-half (2.5) years from the date of election.

Who won BMC polls?

The BJP won 89 and ally Shiv Sena bagged 29 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) got 65 and MNS six seats. The Congress, which fought in alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, bagged 24 seats, AIMIM 8, NCP 3, Samajwadi Party 2 and NCP (SP) got just one seat.

Maharashtra civic polls: Overall results so far

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is set to come to power in 25 of the 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, where elections were held on January 15.

Results in 2,833 of the 2,868 seats in these 29 civic bodies were also declared. There was no official statement from the State Election Commission (SEC) on the remaining 35 seats till midnight, news agency PTI.

The BJP won 1400, and ally Shiv Sena bagged 397 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) got 153 and MNS 13 seats in the state. The Congress bagged 324 seats.

The BJP-led alliance bagged 118 seats to surpass the 114-seat majority mark in the 227-member BMC, which is India's richest civic body, whose budget for 2025-26 is a whopping ₹74,427 crore.