Updated on: Jan 23, 2026 10:40:59 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis with state BJP president Ravindra Chavan after the party’s victory in the BMC elections.
Mumbai mayor election live: The suspense over the mayoral post in Mumbai continues, days after the BJP-led Mahayuti swept the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and a draw for the top post took place on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. What is known, however, is that the mayor in India’s financial capital will be a woman from the open category, according to the results of the lottery process.
In total, 17 municipal corporations will have mayors chosen from the open category. Several of these, including Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Nagpur, will have women mayors. Key civic bodies listed under the open category include Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC) and Nagpur.
Woman mayor in Mumbai
Mumbai’s next mayor will be a woman from the general category, as decided through a lottery held on Thursday.
Apart from Mumbai, PCMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad), Pune, Bhiwandi, and Dhule will have women mayors from the open category. Navi Mumbai, Malegaon, Nanded and Mira-Bhayandar will also see women mayors from the open category.
Opposition alleges rigging in process
The process, however, was marred by claims of rigging from the opposition, which said the exercise was tailored to favour the ruling parties.
As the draw was in progress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the reservation process had been fixed to help the ruling BJP–Shiv Sena alliance.
“The government changed the rules for reservation for the ST category by raising the minimum number of seats from two to three in the corporations. This is an injustice to SCs and STs as Mumbai was not considered for these, as well as OBC reservation,” said former mayor and Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, who attended the meeting on behalf of her party.
BMC elections
In the January 15 polls, the BJP won 89 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, while the Shiv Sena, led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, won 29, taking the alliance beyond the halfway mark of 114 needed to control India’s largest and richest civic body.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997 as a united party, won 65 seats. Its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), secured 6 seats and 1 seat, respectively.
…Read More
In total, 17 municipal corporations will have mayors chosen from the open category. Several of these, including Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Nagpur, will have women mayors. Key civic bodies listed under the open category include Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad (PCMC) and Nagpur.
Woman mayor in Mumbai
Mumbai’s next mayor will be a woman from the general category, as decided through a lottery held on Thursday.
Apart from Mumbai, PCMC (Pimpri-Chinchwad), Pune, Bhiwandi, and Dhule will have women mayors from the open category. Navi Mumbai, Malegaon, Nanded and Mira-Bhayandar will also see women mayors from the open category.
Opposition alleges rigging in process
The process, however, was marred by claims of rigging from the opposition, which said the exercise was tailored to favour the ruling parties.
As the draw was in progress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) said the reservation process had been fixed to help the ruling BJP–Shiv Sena alliance.
“The government changed the rules for reservation for the ST category by raising the minimum number of seats from two to three in the corporations. This is an injustice to SCs and STs as Mumbai was not considered for these, as well as OBC reservation,” said former mayor and Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, who attended the meeting on behalf of her party.
BMC elections
In the January 15 polls, the BJP won 89 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, while the Shiv Sena, led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, won 29, taking the alliance beyond the halfway mark of 114 needed to control India’s largest and richest civic body.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997 as a united party, won 65 seats. Its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), secured 6 seats and 1 seat, respectively.
Follow all the updates here:
Jan 23, 2026 10:40:59 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: BMC mayor’s term will be split in two parts
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Under the BMC’s long-standing practice, the mayor’s term is divided into two equal parts.
The elected mayor holds office for 2.5 years, after which a new election is held for the rest of the term.
This approach was used in the previous BMC term as well. In 2017, Vishwanath Mahadeshwar served for 2.5 years until November 2019, after which Kishori Pednekar was elected and stayed in the post until 2022.
Jan 23, 2026 10:30:37 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Who is the race for Pune mayor?
Mumbai mayor election live updates: The mayor’s post in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been set aside for a woman from the general category, after a draw held by the Maharashtra government on Thursday.
A number of senior women leaders are contesting for the role. They include BJP women’s wing vice-president Varsha Tapkir, Manjusha Nagpure, who was chosen without opposition, Ranjana Tilekar, the mother of MLA Yogesh Tilekar, Manasi Deshpande, and Swarda Bapat, the daughter-in-law of the late Girish Bapat.
Jan 23, 2026 10:26:39 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Opposition claims rigging in lottery process
Mumbai mayor election live updates: The lottery process was married by claims of rigging from the opposition, which said it was designed to favour the ruling parties.
“The government changed the rules for reservation for the ST category by raising the minimum number of seats from two to three in the corporations. This is an injustice to SCs and STs as Mumbai was not considered for these, as well as OBC reservation,” said former mayor and Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, who attended the meeting for her party.
Jan 23, 2026 10:20:09 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: How is a mayor elected in Mumbai?
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Unlike other elections, the mayoral poll does not involve a secret ballot. “The entire process is conducted openly,” a former senior corporator told HT. “All 227 corporators publicly declare whom they are voting for, and the proceedings are videographed.”
After the votes are recorded and counted, the mayor is declared elected. The same procedure is then followed for the election of the deputy mayor.
Once the mayor is elected, the ruling party formally submits to him the names of its leader and group leader in the House while the opposition submits the name of the leader of the Opposition.
Jan 23, 2026 10:13:00 AM IST
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Mumbai to get a woman mayor
Mumbai mayor election live updates: Mumbai and 14 other cities, including Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Nagpur, will get women as mayors across different categories.
This comes after a lottery held on Thursday by the state urban development department to decide reservations for the mayoral posts in the 29 municipal corporations.