Ritu Tawde | Mayor rising

The 133-year-old heritage hall at the iconic Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters is all set to host its elected representatives this week. After more than four years, the opulent room with Burma Teak wood, gold leaf motifs and colonial chandeliers once again hosted the company owners. Among them was Ritu Tawde, the 78th Mayor of Mumbai, who entered wearing a saffron sari and a saffron hijab. He took charge from administrator and BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani.

Ms Tawde, 53, became the second mayor of the BJP and the eighth female mayor of South Asia’s richest civic body. She is the assertive, young, Marathi, Maratha, Konkani female face of the BJP from the Gujarati-dominated Ghatkopar district, which has traditionally voted for the party. The two-term Mumbai mayor is a largely titular but socially important position amid challenging times.

Although the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the BMC for the first time, it does not have a majority on its own. There are 89 companies in the 227-member Parliament. Its ally Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 29 seats. This is significantly lower than the tally of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena group, which is contesting the BMC for the first time since the 2022 split. Uddhav Thackeray fought against the collective might of the BJP and Shiv Sena and won 65 seats. Thus, his party became the main opposition, including many experienced figures. It is particularly noteworthy that four former mayors of Mumbai are in the ranks of the Shiv Sena UBT in the BMC. In contrast, the BJP has one of the highest number of newcomers.

Senior BJP leaders said her name emerged as one of the leading candidates soon after it was announced that the mayoral post was reserved for women in the open category. “The party wanted someone who was brash, energetic, articulate and could react quickly to situations. We wanted someone who could take on Hindutva aggressively, had a good understanding of the dynamics of the city and had some experience. We wanted someone who was educated and could deal directly with the BMC’s internal system,” said a senior BJP leader. “It fits the bill very well. It will have to overcome challenges. The party is acutely aware that it will have to fight an administrative system that has been controlled by another party (Shiv Sena UBT) for decades. As mayor, Ritu Tawde will have to root out corruption in the corporation and expose nexuses in development projects.”

From Congress to BJP

Challenges are nothing new for Ms. Tawde, who started her grassroots journey through social work in Ghatkopar 22 years ago and was later selected by Congress leader Gurudas Kamat to contest the 2007 BMC elections on a party ticket. He left the Congress in 2012 after being abruptly rejected on the ticket and subsequently contested and won on the BJP ticket. She relies on her husband, who nurtures her social desires, and her mother-in-law, a teacher. “My children were very young then, but my mother-in-law insisted that I take time for myself and do something with my life. I started with social services for women, helping them fight domestic abuse and setting up small economic enterprises,” she said. In her last term, Ms. Tawde chaired the Education Committee. But his claim to fame was his fight against the tight-dressed mannequins displayed on the side of the road.

What stands out for the senior BJP leadership is their determination to work without expecting any reward, the leaders said. BJP MLC Prasad Lad, who has known Ms. Tawde for over a decade, praised her for her work during COVID. Another BJP leader Pravin Darekar said he was impressed by her efforts to help needy women. “He would often take them to the bank to help them get small loans. He never asked for anything for himself.”

While Ms. Tawde trains her guns against “illegal Bangladeshi hawkers”, the city will expect her to deliver on key priorities such as clean air, better travel, a better public transport system, safe infrastructure work, among other things.