Who is Ritu Tawde? 2-time Ghatkopar corporator set to be BJP's second-ever Mumbai mayor

The Mahayuti alliance has named the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Ritu Tawde as its Mumbai mayor candidate, putting an end to weeks of speculation around the top post. This is the first time in more than two decades that the position would be held by a member of a party other than the Shiv Sena. The elections for India's richest municipal body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), were held on January 15. The BJP had secured 89 seats, while Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena won 29. But, who is Ritu Tawde? Let us tell you in brief.

Ritu Tawde's name was announced at a meeting of BJP corporators at the BMC headquarters on Friday (February 6). Tawde is a two-time corporator from Ghatkopar suburb, and has previously served as the chairperson of the education committee of the BMC. She is set to become the second Mumbai mayor from the BJP after Prabhakar Pai who had held the post from 1982 to 1983. Tawde was earlier in the Congress party and had switched to the BJP in 2012. "I am feeling very good," Tawde told reporters after filing her nomination papers for the post of BMC mayor on Saturday.

The BJP had earlier said that the mayor of Mumbai will be Marathi-speaking. Tawde was reportedly among the frontrunners for the role alongside members like Sheetal Gambhir, Rajashree Shirwadkar, Asha Marathe, Priti Satam, and Shrikala Pillai. Despite securing the majority, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had hit a roadblock due to last-minute defections. Soon after the elections, a political row had erupted as Shinde-led Sena moved its corporators to a hotel. The BMC is India's wealthiest civic body, with a budget of over Rs 74,000 crore for FY 2025-26. Shinde Sena's Sanjay Ghadi is set to be Mumbai's deputy mayor.