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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.

Cabinet colleagues, close aides continue causing public embarrassment to CM

Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has been the architect and face of BJP’s dominance in the state, has withstood political storms and coalition compulsions with equal ease underscoring his adaptive leadership style. Yet he has not been able to do away with two things - the unkindest criticism he faces over petty issues like physical appearance and caste complexities and the public embarrassment he has to face due to his colleagues and close aides.


Fadnavis turned 55 on Tuesday, when his cabinet colleague and agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, caused yet another public embarrassment to him, by inadvertently termed the state government, as a ‘beggar’.


Incidentally, Fadnavis had publically rapped Kokate on Monday for ‘not concentrating on the legislature work while in the house’ after Kokate’s video where he was seen playing cards on his mobile in the legislative council while the house was transacting business during the recently concluded monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature.


“When a serious discussion was ongoing in the State Legislature, it is unacceptable that a minister was seen playing Cards. We have to acknowledge that Kokate has done wrong. Ministers or MLAs should be seen reading papers and documents in the House. A minister playing online game during a session is not acceptable, and his clarification is also not convincing,” Fadnavis had told the media on Monday.


This was not the first time that the state government had come under attack from the opposition due to Kokate. Ahead of the budget session of the state legislature Kokate was sentenced to two-year sentence by a district court in over a two-decade old case.


After the recent controversy surrounding him, Kokate had called a press conference on Tuesday to tender an explanation. But he goofed up yet again.


“I don’t know how to play online rummy. One needs an OTP and bank account needs to be linked to play the game. One can check if my mobile phone is linked to any such game. I was trying to skip a game which popped up on my screen for 10 to 15 seconds,” the minister said while refuting the claims that he was playing games online. But, he didn’t stop at that. When asked about the CM’s public admonition of his conduct, the minister tried to prove the Cm wrong and said, “I haven’t briefed the CM about this. Neither has he conducted any inquiry. Hence, his opinion seems to have been formed over the media reports.”


The goof up did not stop there. Earlier this year, Kokate had allegedly compared farmers to beggars, inviting severe criticism. “Even a beggar does not take Re 1 in alms, but here we are giving crop insurance for Re 1. Even then, some people try to misuse it,” he had said.While tendering an explanation on Tuesday, Kokate said, “The government doesn't give Re 1 to farmers, it takes Re 1 from them. The government is a beggar.”


Fadnavis again had to publically admonish the minister. “If he has made such a comment, it is inappropriate for ministers to speak in this manner. We have taken corrective measures in the crop insurance scheme as we saw insurance companies benefitting and not farmers,” Fadnavis, who was touring the Gadchiroli district inaugurating various projects, told the reporters. “We have taken steps to make an investment of Rs 5,000 crore every year in the agriculture sector. Maharashtra's economy is good despite challenges,” the CM added.


The CM has been facing such embarrassments from his colleagues almost since he took over in 2014. However, the frequency and intensity of such incidents seem to have gone up off late. It was during the recently concluded monsoon session of the state legislature that a video of social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat when viral wherein he was seen smoking cigarette while a bag full of money lying aside. Fadnavis had to say that, “…a minister seen smoking in this manner was wrong.”


The open brawl among MLAs Gopichand Padalkar and Jitendra Awhad too caused huge embarrassment to the CM. Fadnavis was seen angry in the state assembly, probably for the first time, that day when he replied to discussion over the issue in the house. “Even Class 8 students too do not quarrel like this on streets,” he said while adding that the onus of the decline lies on all the MLAs.


Patience and persistence had been the two of the greatest virtues of the kind of politics Fadnavis has been pursuing since the beginning. However, sometimes it feels as if he has started losing patience due to the constant embarrassments he has been subjected to by his colleagues and close ones.


BJP celebrates CM’s birthday by organising 1000 blood donation camps

The Maharashtra state BJP organised more than 1000 blood donation camps across the state and collected more than one lakh bottles of blood as part of birthday celebrations of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a press release from the state party office said here on Tuesday.


Newly elected state party president Ravindra Chavan had made an appeal to the party workers to engage themselves in some constructive activity on occasion of the CM’s birthday. Accordingly blood donation camps were organised in over than 1000 ‘Mandal’s as per the party’s organizational structure in the state and over one lakh bottle blood was collected across the state, the press release said. All the party office bearers participated in these blood donation camps, it added.


The CM had appealed party workers not to put up banners, posters or hoardings expressing birthday wishes to him. "If anyone thinks that they will be able to impress me by doing so, they are wrong," he had said in the appeal. 

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