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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city...

Seventy-six mayors ruled BMC since 1931

After four years, Mumbai to salute its first citizen Kishori Pednekar Vishwanath Mahadeshwar Snehal Ambekar Sunil Prabhu Mumbai: As the date for appointing Mumbai’s First Citizen looms closer, various political parties have adopted tough posturing to foist their own person for the coveted post of Mayor – the ‘face’ of the country’s commercial capital. Ruling Mahayuti allies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena have vowed that the city will get a ‘Hindu Marathi’ person to head India’s richest civic body, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also harbour fond hopes of a miracle that could ensure their own person for the post. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) optimism stems from expectations of possible political permutations-combinations that could develop with a realignment of forces as the Supreme Court is hearing the cases involving the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party this week. Catapulted as the largest single party, the BJP hopes to install a first ever party-man as Mayor, but that may not create history. Way back in 1982-1983, a BJP leader Dr. Prabhakar Pai had served in the top post in Mumbai (then Bombay). Incidentally, Dr. Pai hailed from Udupi district of Karnataka, and his appointment came barely a couple of years after the BJP was formed (1980), capping a distinguished career as a city father, said experts. Originally a Congressman, Dr. Pai later shifted to the Bharatiya Janata Party, then back to Congress briefly, founded the Janata Seva Sangh before immersing himself in social activities. Second Administrator The 2026 Mayoral elections have evoked huge interest not only among Mumbaikars but across the country as it comes after nearly four years since the BMC was governed by an Administrator. This was only the second time in the BMC history that an Administrator was named after April 1984-May 1985. On both occasions, there were election-related issues, the first time the elections got delayed for certain reasons and the second time the polling was put off owing to Ward delimitations and OBC quotas as the matter was pending in the courts. From 1931 till 2022, Mumbai has been lorded over by 76 Mayors, men and women, hailing from various regions, backgrounds, castes and communities. They included Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, even a Jew, etc., truly reflecting the cosmopolitan personality of the coastal city and India’s financial powerhouse. In 1931-1932, the Mayor was a Parsi, J. B. Boman Behram, and others from his community followed like Khurshed Framji Nariman (after whom Nariman Point is named), E. A. Bandukwala, Minoo Masani, B. N. Karanjia and other bigwigs. There were Muslims like Hoosenally Rahimtoola, Sultan M. Chinoy, the legendary Yusuf Meherally, Dr. A. U. Memon and others. The Christian community got a fair share of Mayors with Joseph A. D’Souza – who was Member of Constituent Assembly representing Bombay Province for writing-approving the Constitution of India, M. U. Mascarenhas, P. A. Dias, Simon C. Fernandes, J. Leon D’Souza, et al. A Jew Elijah Moses (1937-1938) and a Sikh M. H. Bedi (1983-1984), served as Mayors, but post-1985, for the past 40 years, nobody from any minority community occupied the august post. During the silver jubilee year of the post, Sulochana M. Modi became the first woman Mayor of Mumbai (1956), and later with tweaks in the rules, many women ruled in this post – Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar (1994-1995), Vishakha Raut (997-1998), Dr. Shubha Raul (March 2007-Nov. 2009), Shraddha Jadhav (Dec. 2009-March 2012), Snehal Ambedkar (Sep. 2014-March 2017). The last incumbent (before the Administrator) was a government nurse, Kishori Pednekar (Nov. 2019-March 2022) - who earned the sobriquet of ‘Florence Nightingale’ of Mumbai - as she flitted around in her full white uniform at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, earning the admiration of the citizens. Mumbai Mayor – high-profile post The Mumbai Mayor’s post is considered a crucial step in the political ladder and many went on to become MLAs, MPs, state-central ministers, a Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers and union ministers. The formidable S. K. Patil was Mayor (1949-1952) and later served in the union cabinets of PMs Jawaharlal Nehru, Lah Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi; Dahyabhai V. Patel (1954-1955) was the son of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel; Manohar Joshi (1976-1977) became the CM of Maharashtra, later union minister and Speaker of Lok Sabha; Chhagan Bhujbal (1985-1986 – 1990-1991) became a Deputy CM.

Attempts to reap political benefits would be counter-productive: CM

Mumbai: While making it clear that the state government considers the agitation initiated by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil to be a socio-economic in nature, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday warned the opposition of trying to reap political benefits of the agitation and said that such attempts would be counter-productive.


The CM also made it clear that the government does not intend to stop the protestors midway and would allow them to reach Mumbai and hold protests within the frame of law.


"If the protest follows the rules and regulations set for it, we have no problem with that," the CM said.


He also defended the government’s viewpoint regarding Maratha quota while pointing out that the demands being pushed by the activists to give Maratha reservation from the OBC quota actually go against the interests of the Maratha community.


"You know that there are about 350 castes in the OBC category. If we look at medical admissions, for example, the cut off marks for OBC category are higher than that for the SEBC category and the SEBC cut off is even higher than that of the EWS category. So, I don't know how much good this demand (of granting Maratha reservation from within OBC quota) will do. If you look at the statistics carefully, you will understand what is in the best interest of the Maratha community."


CM Fadnavis also said, "It is also the responsibility of the Maratha community to study what is in their best interest and then make a demand. But, one thing is true, that there will be no political reservation in the SEBC category. If political reservation is the goal, then it's a different matter. If the goal is not political reservation and it is a fight for social and economic change, for getting jobs and admissions, then at least some intellectuals should consider this demand."When asked about the attempts to reap political benefits of the agitation, Fadnavis  said, “You all have seen what happened before. Even today, you can see who is mobilizing resources for the protest. But that's fine. My point is that for us, this protest is not political; we see it through a social lens. Some political parties are trying to benefit by using them as a pawn, but they will suffer a big loss, not a gain.”


Fadnavis also stated that neither the Maratha nor the OBC communities will be subjected to injustice. "The Maratha community has been given reservation, and it has also been upheld in court. We will not take away anyone's reservation. No one should go beyond the framework of democracy. The leaders of the Maratha community should study the issue and then make a demand."


The legal tangle

Jarange Patil's main demand is to include the Maratha community in the OBC category. This demand has not been fulfilled since 1960. Even the Mandal Commission refused to classify the Maratha community as backward. The fact is, the conclusion of many commissions that the Maratha community is backward, have not been upheld by the Supreme Court. To bring down the mounting pressure, the government might offer some temporary assurance. But, such patch works couldn’t stand legal scrutiny is what history tells us.


Government started issuing OBC certificates to those holding 'Maratha-Kunbi' or 'Kunbi-Maratha' records in 2004. Before that it was available only to those who had 'Kunbi' records.Currently, Marathas in Maharashtra receive reservation under SEBC. However, that doesn’t help them get a quota in the central government under OBC category. If this current reservation, which is limited to Maharashtra, does not hold up in court, a problem may arise. However, in that case, the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) option is available to Marathas.Due to the SEBC reservation, the EWS (Economically Backward Class) reservation is not applicable to Marathas in Maharashtra.


Those with 'Kunbi' records take reservation in central and state services as OBC, while those with 'Maratha' records take it under EBC or SEBC.

The Maratha community is the only one to receive dual reservations.


In Maharashtra, there is 19% reservation for OBCs. The remaining 8% is for specific categories like VJNT (Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes), special categories, etc. Jarange Patil's demand is to include the Maratha community, which consists of 550 sub-castes, in the 19% OBC reservation. This means his goal is to leave the separate 10% reservation and compete within the 19% category.


If this happens, the benefits currently available as both OBC and EBC/SEBC for open categories would have to be forgone.


This means that entering the 19% category would be like hitting one's foot with a stone, especially when there are more opportunities available now.

Jarange Patil's honest intentions should not be doubted. But, facts are sacred.On the other hand, the government too is not innocent. They ignored the issue for four months even after Jarange Patil warned of a protest. When the protest began, they used harsh language to criticize Jarange Patil, which further fueled the protest.


The then Shinde-Fadnavis government issued an order regarding 'Sagesoyare' (relatives by marriage) because the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were approaching. Now Jarange Patil is asking them to implement it. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people, led by Jarange Patil, are marching to Mumbai. Hence, it will be interesting to see how they placate Jarange- Patil or find some other superficial answer to buy time.


Over 1,500 cops deployed at Azad Maidan

The Mumbai police on Thursday deployed over 1,500 of its personnel at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to maintain law and order situation in view of activist Manoj Jarange's indefinite fast to press for the Maratha reservation demand, officials said.


 Jarange, 43, has earlier announced that he would launch an indefinite fast at the Azad Maidan from August 29. He along with thousands of supporters left his native Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district on August 26. On Thursday morning, he reached Shivneri fort, the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and later proceeded to Mumbai.


In view of the protest, the police have put in place security arrangements at the Azad Maidan. They expect more than 20,000 protesters in south Mumbai, an official said.


Besides the local police, one company each of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) are also deployed at the protest venue and its surrounding areas to avoid any untoward incident, he said.

Some units of the central forces that are in Mumbai to provide security during the ongoing Ganesh festival, have been diverted for the Maratha quota protest, the official said.


Even as the protest is set to begin from Friday, protesters from all over the state have started gathering at the Azad Maidan. The police have granted permission to Jarange to stage his agitation there only for a day, with the number of protesters not exceeding 5,000.


"The BJP and Devendra Fadnavis must uphold Rajdharma and honour the promises given to the community. With a huge majority in Maharashtra and the BJP in power at the Centre, they should go to Delhi and remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations."

Harshwardhan Sapkal, President, Maharashtra Congress

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