The reservation list for the post of Mayor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been issued, bringing clarity to prolonged speculation. According to the list, the Mumbai Mayor’s post has been placed in the Open Category and is reserved for a woman.
The decision establishes that the next Mayor of Mumbai will be a woman from any caste or community, as the Open Category does not require eligibility from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, or Other Backward Class categories. The reservation determination directly affects political positioning within the municipal corporation.
Following the release of the reservation list, the focus has shifted to which political party will secure the Mayor’s post. While the reservation confirms a woman Mayor, the party affiliation of the candidate has not yet been decided.
Discussions are underway within the Mahayuti alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. According to sources, the alliance partners are in talks to finalise the candidate jointly. It is expected that the Mayor’s post will go to the alliance, with the final decision to be taken by the top leadership.
The reservation outcome has affected the strategy of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. After the vote count, Thackeray had stated that if it was God’s will, his party would get the Mayor’s post. He had anticipated that the Mayor’s post might be reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category, which he believed would have benefited his party. That expectation has not materialised due to the Open Category reservation.
With the reservation list now public, attention has turned to the Mahayuti alliance regarding which party’s candidate will be chosen and who will be named as the Mayor.
The reservation list has also been announced for all 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, outlining the broader framework for urban local body leadership across the state.
Municipal corporations placed in the Open Category include Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai, Vasai Virar, Mira Bhayandar, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Amravati, Nanded Waghala, Dhule, Malegaon, Sangli Miraj Kupwad, Solapur, and Parbhani.
Among these, Bhiwandi Nizampur and Pimpri Chinchwad have Open Category reservations with women-specific allocation.
For Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe reservations, the Mayor’s post has been reserved for Scheduled Caste in Thane, for Scheduled Tribe (male) in Kalyan-Dombivli, and for Scheduled Caste (woman) in Latur and Jalna.
Several municipal corporations have been reserved for the Other Backward Class category, including Ulhasnagar, Ahilyanagar, Akola, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Ichalkaranji, and Panvel, with some seats designated for women and others open to both genders.
