Despite upsets, many familiar faces of BMC's former general body managed to retain their political turfs on Friday. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)
The long-awaited polls to elect a body of representatives to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation threw up many surprises as several heavyweights and experienced people of the erstwhile civic house took a drubbing on Friday.
In a big defeat for the Akhil Bhartiya Sena (ABS), founded by ‘Daddy’ Arun Gawli, his daughters Yogita Gawli and Geeta Gawli were defeated in ward numbers 207 and 212 respectively. While Geeta Gawli was the sitting corporator and the only ABS representative from 212, Samajwadi Party’s Amreen Shehzan Abrahni managed to wrest the seat from her by a significant margin of over 2,000 votes as per the initial trends. Her sister Yogita Gawli, who also fought on an ABS ticket, was beaten by BJP’s Madhukar Rohidas Lokhande.
Their defeat is indicative of the weaning influence of the ABS in ward 212 which was viewed as the party’s stronghold in the past three terms.
First elected as a corporator in 1992 and re-elected to power for five terms since, former Leader of Opposition of BMC, Ravi Raja, was also defeated on Friday by the sitting corporator of ward number 185, Sena (UBT)’s T M Jagdish. While Ravi Raja had previously won as a Congress leader, in 2024, he switched to the BJP after he was denied an Assembly ticket. Meanwhile, this also marked the first election outside his home turf of ward 176 of Sion.
In the eastern suburbs, Kaptan Malik of NCP, the sitting corporator from ward 170 since 2022, who fought from ward 165, was defeated by Ashraf Azmi, the Congress heavyweight who managed to retain his seat by a comfortable margin on Friday. The brother of former minister Nawab Malik, Kaptan Malik was forced to contest outside his home turf of ward 170 owing to a change in reservation in what made the contest in ward number 165 a closely watched one.cIn ward 194, a Shiv Sena bastion, Shiv Sena’s (Shinde) Samadhan Sada Sarvankar, son of politician Sada Sarvankar, was defeated by Sena UBT’s Nishikant Shinde by a margin of over 600 votes.
Big winners
Despite upsets, many familiar faces of BMC’s former general body managed to retain their political turfs on Friday.cIn the Sena stronghold of ward 199 in Parel, UBT candidate Kishori Pednekar, last sitting mayor of Mumbai, won in a battle against the Shiv Sena (Shinde) candidate Rupal Rajesh Kusale by a margin of 1,680 votes.
In ward 191, which encompasses Shivaji Park among other planned neighbourhoods of Dadar, former mayor of BMC house–Vishakha Raut–also won against the Shinde-Sena led candidate.
Tejasvee Ghosalkar, former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator who contested as a BJP candidate, also emerged winner with a landslide margin of over 10,755 votes against Dhanashree Kolge, who was field by Sena UBT in ward number 2 of Dahisar.
Tejasvee is the daughter-in-law of Sena (UBT) stalwart and former MLA Vinod Ghosalkar, whose husband, Abhishek, the elder son of Vinod and a former corporator from ward 1, was shot dead in February 2024 by local political aspirant Mouris Noronha during a Facebook live stream.
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Another former mayor, Milind Vaidya, who served between 1996 and 1997, also won and managed to retain his seat of ward number 182 on a Sena (UBT) ticket. Pooja Mahadeshwar, wife of former mayor, Vishwanath Mahadeshwar also managed to win by a margin of 2,400 votes. She managed to retain the ward, 87, on a UBT ticket, where her husband had served as the councillor between 2017 and 2022.
Nayonika Bose is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau. While in the early stages of her career, her focused reporting on local governance and community welfare already demonstrates clear Expertise and Trustworthiness in covering essential civic issues impacting Mumbai's residents.
Expertise & Authority (E-E-A-T)
Specialized Focus: Nayonika's reporting is dedicated to civic and community issues, providing readers with highly relevant, ground-level information about the functionality and administration of India's largest metropolitan area.
Core Coverage Areas: Her articles highlight a strong focus on the fundamental quality of life and public safety in Mumbai, including:
Civic Infrastructure: Reports on critical failures and initiatives related to public works, such as the recurring problem of unauthorized building collapses in Navi Mumbai, the construction of new infrastructure projects (like the Dahisar-Bhayandar Link Road and the Mahalaxmi cable-stayed bridge), and the maintenance of essential city services (e.g., manhole cover theft).
Urban Governance & Crisis Management: Provides detailed coverage of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) response to major crises, particularly during the monsoon (e.g., heavy rainfall, water cuts, and public health concerns like dengue and malaria) and large-scale public safety incidents (e.g., the hoarding collapse fallout).
Community Welfare & Rights: Reports on key social issues, including the financial aid scheme for persons with disabilities, the struggles of Mumbai's hawkers protesting eviction drives, and the dangers faced by workers due to the continuation of manual scavenging in water tanks.
Cultural & Heritage Reporting: Covers significant community stories, including the restoration of British-era fountains and the history of institutions like the 126-year-old Chinchpokli cemetery, showing a breadth of interest beyond pure administration.
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