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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.

SS (UBT)-MNS-MES flex muscles

The residents of Mira Road take out march under the leader of MNS on Tuesday in support of Marathi language. Pic: Bhushan Koyande
The residents of Mira Road take out march under the leader of MNS on Tuesday in support of Marathi language. Pic: Bhushan Koyande

 Thane/Mumbai: The ongoing language row flooded onto the roads in the Mira Road-Bhayander towns of Thane with a massive pro-Marathi procession taken out by the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti (MES) along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena-Shiv Sena (UBT) that rattled the MahaYuti government.

 

In an embarrassment, a ruling ally Shiv Sena’s Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, who is also the local MLA of Ovala-Majiwada constituency which includes Mira Road, rushed to join the MNS-led morcha, but had to beat a hasty retreat after someone aimed a plastic bottle at him (which missed), others leered him at him with the slogan of ‘50 Khoke, Ekdum Okay’ or ‘Jai Gujarat’.

 

Defying the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar Police’s prohibitory orders and denial of permission for the march, thousands of angry activists of the three parties gathered since dawn in Mira Road, leading to a high-voltage drama as local traffic virtually came to a standstill.

 

The spectacle became more dramatic as the police detained or rounded up several local MNS leaders including MNS Palghar head Avinash Jadhav, Mira Road chief Sandeep Rane early on Tuesday, angering the activists who turned up in small groups but large numbers from Thane and other districts to the Shanti Park area.

 

Police in action

Even before the procession started, the police caught many of the protestors and dumped them in vans to the local station houses or other venues but the activists were undeterred and insisted on taking out the morcha.

 

This coupled with the denial of permission resulted in a volley of heated exchanges with the MBVV Police, stray incidents of scuffles and thunderous sloganeering, and thousands of activists of the three parties squatting on roads as the fracas continued for hours.

 

Mira Road town was ostensibly chosen for the procession as a retaliation for the business and trading community on July 3 to protest against the MNS’ roughing up of a local shopkeeper Babulal Khimji Chaudhary there on June 29.

 

While at least seven MNS activists were arrested for the incident, the MBVV Police permitted the traders’ procession on July 3, but denied clearance to the MES-MNS-SS (UBT) march today, from a particular route passing through Gujarati-Marwari dominated areas.

 

“The Gujaratis (in Mira Road) were given the green signal to undertake a protest then, but Marathis are being denied the same,” said an irate MNS Mumbai President and Spokesperson Sandeep Deshpande on Tuesday he later rushed to Mira Road to participate, as many blamed the local Bhayander BJP MLA Narendra Mehta and Minister Sarnaik for the denial of permission.

 

Maintaining a tough stance vis-à-vis the morcha, MBVV Commissioner of Police Madhukar Pandey said that they had certain intelligence inputs for denying the permission from the route the parties sought and also detained some persons, but said the police were ready to allow the march from an alternate route.

 

As tempers seemed to rise this afternoon, MNS’ Sandeep Deshpande, SS (UBT)’s Rajan Vichare plus Vinod Ghosalkar and others rushed to Mira Road to pacify their people and prevent the situation from escalating.

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