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Mumbai Mayor Election Live Updates: Kiran Gujar, a trustee of Vidya Pratishthan and a close associate of the late Ajit Pawar, has made a major revelation. He said the entire Pawar family has decided to honour Ajit Pawar’s last wish and that a positive decision has already been taken, according to a report by Loksatta.
Ajit Pawar’s final wish will be fulfilled soon and the NCP and Congress will come together. “The Pawar family will not talk about this issue for the next ten to eleven days, but the merger of the two parties may happen. On January 21, Ajit Pawar had told me that the NCP should be merged with the Congress. He had said that discussions are also going on about it,” Loksatta quoted Gujjar as saying.
After the BJP-led alliance’s big win in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) elections, attention has now shifted to the mayoral race. Along with Mumbai, mayoral elections will also be held in 28 other cities across Maharashtra, where local body polls took place in January. Many of these cities are expected to have women mayors.
Mumbai Mayor election 2026: Who are the contenders
With the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 89 seats and the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena comfortably crossing the majority mark with 118 seats, the next Mayor is widely expected to come from this alliance.
Among the frontrunners, Sheetal Gambhir Desai of the BJP is seen as the strongest contender. She registered a significant win from Ward 190 in the Mahim–Dadar area, which has traditionally been a Shiv Sena stronghold.
Another prominent name is Ritu Tawde, a second-term BJP corporator from Ward 132 in Ghatkopar. She is known for being easily accessible to citizens and has built a reputation for effectively handling complex civic matters, particularly in Mumbai’s suburban areas.
Tejaswee Ghosalkar is also being discussed within party circles as a potential candidate. A senior BJP leader, she has considerable experience and influence, especially in the northern suburbs, making her another strong option in the race for the Mayor’s post.
Mumbai mayor election 2026: Seat reserved for woman
In Mumbai, the mayor’s post has been reserved for a woman from the general category. The BJP has emerged as the single largest party, winning 89 of the 227 seats, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has secured 29 seats. Although the BJP-led alliance has crossed the majority mark of 114 seats, it is still unclear whether the mayor will be from the BJP or the Shinde Sena.
Reason behind the BMC mayoral election delay
Delay is mainly because corporators from the BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena are yet to complete their mandatory registration with the Konkan divisional commissioner, Times of India reported, citing a civic official from the municipal secretary’s department.
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“The registration was initially expected to take place this week, but in view of the ongoing political churn, it is now likely to happen only next week,” a civic source told TOI.
Officials added that even after all parties finish the registration process, at least seven days are required before a special meeting can be called to elect the mayor and deputy mayor. This period is mandatory to allow the civic body to convene the meeting, give parties time to nominate their corporators for the posts, and circulate the agenda.
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Because of this, the mayoral and deputy mayoral elections are now expected to be held only after February 10, the report mentioned. “Initially it was expected that this process would be completed by the first week of Feb, but this is unlikely now,” the source told the news outlet.
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