Who is Ritu Tawde? BJP's nominee for Mumbai Mayor post

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominated corporator Ritu Tawade for the Mumbai mayor election, while its ally Shiv Sena declared Sanjay Ghadi as its candidate for the deputy mayor's post.

Who is Ritu Tawade?

Ritu Tawade is a corporator from Ward 132. She first represented Ward No. 121 in 2012, and later moved on to represent Ward No. 127 in 2017, followed by Ward No. 132 in the 2026 elections, according to MyNeta.

While Tawade had won the BMC elections in 2012, she lost to Shiv Sena's Tukaram Krishna Patil in 2017. She again won in the recently-concluded BMC polls.

Ritu pursued SY BCom from NG Acharya College, Chembur, Mumbai in 1995-96, according to the information shared by the Association of Democratic Reform (ADR).

BMC mayor and Deputy mayor election

BJP leader Amit Satam declared Tawade's name, while Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale announced Ghadi's candidature at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters.

According to The Wire, the mayoral election will take place at 11:30 am on February 11 at the BMC headquarters. This marks the return of a new mayor to Mumbai after a gap of nearly four years.

Ghadi will serve as deputy mayor for 15 months, Shiv Sena secretary Sanjay More has said in a statement.

He was one of the senior former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators who switched sides to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Ghadi was elected from Ward 5 in the January 15 civic election.

By splitting the deputy mayor's term in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena intends to give an opportunity to four of its corporators.

BMC election results

In the polls to the 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while Shiv Sena won 29 seats.

The ruling alliance, with a combined strength of 118 corporators, is past the halfway mark of 114 and is well placed to secure the mayor's post.

The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997, won 65 seats, while its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), won six and one seat, respectively.

Among other parties, the Congress won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) three, and the Samajwadi Party two. Two independent candidates also won in the high-stakes election, held after a nine-year gap.

The BMC commissioner has been serving as the state government-appointed administrator since March 7, 2022, following the end of the previous term.

The BMC is the country's richest civic body, with its budget for the 2025-26 pegged at ₹74,450 crore, which is higher than that of some smaller states.