BJP names Ritu Tawde as Mumbai mayor candidate, Shiv Sena picks Sanjay Ghadi for deputy mayor post

Mumbai: After days of suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced that Ritu Tawde will be its nominee for Mayor of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. At a joint press conference with the Shiv Sena, Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam said the BJP would take the Mayor's post, while the Shiv Sena would nominate Sanjay Ghadi as Deputy Mayor.

Though the joint appearance was intended to signal unity, negotiations between the two parties were intense. The BJP, with 89 seats, is the single largest party in the civic body but remains 14 short of the 144-mark needed for a majority. It requires the support of the Shiv Sena's 29 corporators to secure control. Since the civic election results were declared on January 16, both sides have been bargaining over key posts, including the Standing Committee Chairmanship, which the Shiv Sena has sought in exchange for backing the BJP's mayoral candidate. The protracted nature of the talks was evident from the fact that the joint press conference was held on the final day for filing nominations for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. It remains unclear whether the issue of the Standing Committee Chairmanship has been resolved. The post is significant, as the committee clears projects worth hundreds of crores for the city.

Relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP have cooled in recent months, with both parties targeting each other during the local body election campaign.