Amid party splits and defections by leaders across the political spectrum, several Mumbai electoral wards are poised for a tough contest, with incumbent corporators set to face other sitting corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
On January 15, the city will go to the polls, with over 1,700 contestants in the fray for 227 municipal wards. Of the total seats, records show that at least five wards are poised to witness a direct contest between incumbent corporators who served on the civic body’s council between 2017 and 2022, when their terms lapsed.
Amongst the several wards set to witness a fight between sitting corporators is ward 5, which encompasses the Magathane area in the R/North ward. Following a split in the Shiv Sena, the ward will see a fight between Sujata Patekar, who had served as the Shiv Sena (UBT) councillor in ward 4 and the sitting corporator from the seat and Sanjay Ghadi, who is eyeing to retain his seat on a Shiv Sena (Shinde) ticket.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Patekar said the decision to contest from ward 5, instead of her sitting seat, was triggered by a change in reservation. “When I contested from ward 4 between 2017 and 2022, the ward was reserved under the ladies category. Now, during the lottery, the seat was reserved for an OBC candidate, while I am from the open category. Besides, I won from seat number 5 during the 2012 polls, and therefore, I decided to contest from this seat for the coming elections.”
Akin to the R/North ward, ward number 185 will see a fight between corporators Ravi Raja and T M Jagdish for the crucial Dharavi seat, which encompasses the Kumbharwada pottery district as well as other densely populated slums of the Transit Camp. A five-time corporator, Raja had previously served as a Congress corporator and a former leader of the Opposition in the previous term.
However, after switching to the BJP in 2024, Raja is now set to contest on a BJP ticket from seat number 185, after he lost his home turf seat of 176 to a change in reservation. This puts him in a direct contest with the sitting corporator of ward 185, UBT’s T M Jagdish.
On the question of a fight from the incumbent in ward 185, Ravi Raja told The Indian Express, “I am confident, as the previous corporator has done no work and was nowhere to be seen over the past few years. Even though I have contested from Sion East previously, I understand the issues in Dharavi well, as it’s close to my home turf, and I also have 25 years of experience with the BMC. This not only means I have a good grasp of grassroots issues, but also people recognise me even in Dharavi, where I have not contested previously.”
Mahayuti fight in Colaba
In what is set to become a closely watched seat, ward number 225 in Colaba will not only witness a fight between sitting councillors but also a battle within the Mahayuti alliance as the Shinde-led Sena candidate will contest against the BJP. The sitting corporator, Sujata Sanap, will contest to retain control of her seat on a Shinde-led Sena ticket. Meanwhile, the BJP’s Harshita Narvekar, who previously served as a corporator in ward 226, is also poised to contest from ward 225 in this poll.
Narvekar stated that the change in seat reservation drove the decision to contest from a different ward.
“We have been working very actively in our Colaba area, but a lot of things have yet to be done on the ground in the vicinity. In areas like Fort, especially, there is a major problem of high traffic, encroachments upon footpaths, garbage, etc. In the smaller lanes, the redevelopment of old buildings is another big problem to be addressed. There needs to be a holistic development in the area, which has not happened in the past. Therefore, our party wanted a presence in the 225 ward and addressed these issues,” Narvekar said.
A similar fight, likely to cut into votes in Kurla, will see sitting corporators and prominent Muslim faces contesting the ward number 165. While sitting corporator from the ward, Congress’s Ashraf Azmi, is contesting for his seat, the battle will be tougher for Azmi with the sitting corporator from ward 170, Kaptan Malik of the NCP, contesting from Azmi’s turf.
Even as Kaptan Malik served as the corporator from ward 170 until 2022, the ward’s reservation, following the lottery, was changed to ‘OBC ladies’, nudging him to contest from ward 165.
Meanwhile, the Sion Koliwada seat of ward 185 will also witness a tough contest between two corporators, the sitting corporator from UBT, Smita Gaonkar and the former leader of the house and UBT Shiv Sena corporator, Trushna Vishwasrao, who is set to contest on a Sena (Shinde) ticket from ward 180.
Even as Vishwasrao had lost in the 2017 polls, she was included in the civic house as a nominated corporator by the erstwhile undivided Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, UBT’s Smita Gaonkar, who is the sitting corporator from ward 180, will fight to retain her turf seat.
Former corporators in the arena
In several other wards, former corporators who served in the previous house between 2012 and 2017 are also in contest against the incumbents. A case in point is the Shiv Sena bastion of Sewri’s ward number 206, which will witness a contest between former colleagues wherein incumbent Shiv Sena UBT’s Sachin Padwal will fight to retain his seat against the former corporator who served till 2017, Nana Ambole, who is contesting on Shiv Sena (Shinde) ticket.
Deeming it an ‘unusual phenomenon’, Surendra Jondhale, a political analyst and observer, attributed the tight contest to the prolonged delay in conducting civic polls.
“The BMC elections are happening after a period of almost nine years, so the political aspirations have become more acute. The corporators have tasted the political power in the past and realise that it is a lucrative business, thanks to the BMC’s massive kitty. Therefore, even though elections were delayed, the political aspirations of the corporators have become more competitive and intense to retain their seats,” Jondhale said.
On January 15, the BMC will go to the polls, with over 1,700 contestants in the fray for 227 municipal wards. 
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