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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.

The Big Dreamer

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Raj Thackeray

The MNS president Raj Thackeray is eyeing a major role to play after the Assembly elections. His recent decisions, first to field his son Amit from Mahim constituency and not to field a candidate against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, are both indicative of the fact that he is playing his cards very carefully this time around.


Thackeray had declared complete support to PM Narendra Modi and lent an unconditional support to the BJP during Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He had to face sharp criticism from his cousin Uddhav Thackeray for the feat. Yet he remained firm on his decision. However, he surprised everybody when he announced that he shall go solo in the state assembly elections and shall try to field candidates from all the 288 constituencies.


He has also suffered politically due to such inconsistencies. Yet, the journey is a testament to his commitment to regionalism and the promotion of Marathi identity. While his methods and rhetoric have often sparked controversy, his influence in Maharashtra’s politics is undeniable. Thackeray continues to shape the political discourse in the state, advocating for the rights and interests of the Marathi-speaking population.


Born as Swararaj Shrikant Thackeray on June 14, 1968, the nephew of Bal Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena, picked up his oratory, style, organisational skills and the witty nature of a cartoonist. He began his political journey in the Shiv Sena when he founded the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (BVS), the party’s student wing, in the late 1980’s.


Due to his impressive role in the 1990 Assembly elections, political analysts started seeing the hair apparat for the Shiv Sena in him. However, soon cousin Uddhav too joined the politics and gained prominence in the party. Tensions grew between the cousins leading to Raj’s resignation from Shiv Sena in 2005.


In March 2006, Thackeray launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a regional party focused on advocating for the rights and interests of the Marathi-speaking population. The MNS quickly gained attention for its aggressive stance on issues such as the influx of migrants from other Indian states, which Raj argued was diluting the cultural identity of Maharashtra. The party’s 2008 anti-North Indian campaign, where MNS activists targeted migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, led to widespread violence and arrests of party workers. But, this time he was briefly detained and then released on bail. His popularity skyrocketed and his party began protests demanding that business signboards in Mumbai be written in Marathi, reflecting his commitment to promoting the Marathi language and culture. As a result, the party bagged 13 assembly seats in 2009. He also got good foothold in local bodies of Pune, Nashik and Mumbai. However, he failed to keep the momentum.


Thackeray’s charismatic oratory and strong regionalist stance still holds a good chunk of support base for him. It now needs to be seen whether this base helps him to fulfil his dream to become a Kingmaker.

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