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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.

Steve Witkoff: Trump’s Real Estate Diplomat

Updated: Mar 12, 2025


Steve Witkoff
Steve Witkoff

Were a list of the most improbable architects of modern diplomacy to be drawn up, then Steve Witkoff would stand out by a mile. A New York real estate magnate turned U.S. special envoy, he now finds himself at the heart of two of the world’s most intractable conflicts of our time - negotiating ceasefires and hostage releases in Gaza while attempting to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia after three years of bitter strife. For a man who once built skyscrapers, the scale of his current task is daunting.


Witkoff’s name may not carry the same diplomatic heft as Henry Kissinger or Richard Holbrooke, but his rise is strikingly reminiscent of the businessman-as-diplomat archetype America has occasionally favoured. Like Thomas Jefferson’s reliance on merchant-turned-negotiator John Jay or Donald Trump’s fondness for Jared Kushner’s real estate-driven problem-solving, Witkoff represents the latest chapter in a tradition where hard-knuckled deal-making is likened to statecraft.


Born and raised in the Bronx, Witkoff built a fortune developing high-end properties, cultivating a reputation as a shrewd businessman with a nose for undervalued assets. His relationship with Trump spans decades, forged on golf courses and in Manhattan boardrooms. That connection propelled him to his current role as special envoy, tasked with untangling the geopolitical thickets of war and diplomacy.


He has been at his task with all the chutzpah of a hotshot property tycoon. History offers several precedents for Trump’s reliance on nontraditional envoys. The most obvious is Henry Kissinger, who, despite being a scholar, was initially dismissed by foreign policy elites for his lack of traditional diplomatic credentials. Kissinger revolutionized American diplomacy through backchannel negotiations, particularly with China and the Soviet Union, relying on secrecy and high-pressure dealmaking. However, Kissinger was a trained strategist with a deep understanding of history - qualities Witkoff has yet to demonstrate.


As the administration’s Middle East envoy, Witkoff has been tasked with navigating Trump’s hardline stance on Hamas. When Trump issued an ultimatum demanding the immediate release of hostages or destruction of the group, Witkoff stood by his side, oscillating between bellicose rhetoric and cautious diplomacy.


Kissinger once remarked that diplomacy is the art of restraining power, whereas Trump’s philosophy appears to be about maximizing it. This difference in worldview is evident in Witkoff’s approach. Unlike traditional envoys, who balance pressure with incentives, Witkoff has so far relied on unilateral ultimatums.


Witkoff’s approach mirrors that of Trump’s broader foreign policy - muscular, unpredictable and often dismissive of traditional diplomatic protocols. Unlike previous envoys who sought multilateral solutions, he operates with the ethos of a private dealmaker, seeing negotiations as transactional rather than strategic.


His handling of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed both his strengths and weaknesses as a negotiator. When Netanyahu initially delayed ceasefire negotiations, citing religious observance, Witkoff’s reaction was blunt: he “did not care” what day it was. The remark, while diplomatically unorthodox, reinforced the impression that he was more enforcer than envoy, willing to forgo niceties if they impeded his goal.


Witkoff’s rapid ascent in diplomacy has drawn inevitable comparisons to figures like Richard Grenell, another Trump ally who leapt from nontraditional backgrounds into high-stakes negotiations. Yet, unlike seasoned diplomats who see statecraft as a marathon, Witkoff views it as a series of high-stakes real estate transactions. He is, in effect, the Middle East’s newest power broker, relying less on a deep understanding of historical grievances and more on the art of leverage.


The problem is that the conflicts he is now enmeshed in are not Manhattan property disputes. In Gaza, the stakes are existential for both Israel and the Palestinians. In Ukraine, an entire European security order hangs in the balance.


While Witkoff’s track record remains unproven, his ability to bring both conflicts to a resolution will define whether he is a genuine diplomatic force or simply the latest experiment in Trump’s preference for unconventional envoys. Either way, his tenure as Trump’s dealmaker-diplomat is a reminder that, in this administration, power belongs not to the seasoned statesmen but to those who know how to work a room and, perhaps, a golf course. And whatever the outcome of negotiations over Gaza and the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Steve Witkoff will learn that in global diplomacy, some negotiations don’t come with an easy closing date.

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