How reshuffling of ward reservation turns Mumbai’s political map upside down

Every five years, before each municipal election, the state government carries out the draw to reassign these categories across wards.

The lottery system

The rotation is mandated under the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution which empower state governments to reserve and periodically rotate seats for women and disadvantaged groups in urban local bodies and panchayats. For women, while the rules called for one-third reservation, the provision was revised to reserve 50 per cent of the seats for women in an amendment made in 2011.

While the number of reserved seats remains fixed as per the to population proportions, the specific wards under reservation change every election cycle. The reasoning behind this process is to ensure that no ward remains permanently closed to any candidate and that representation is shared fairly across the city over time.

During the BMC’s recent draw, the numbers of each ward number was dropped into a transparent box and selected at random in full public view. The resulting list dictates which wards will be reserved for women or for OBC, SC, and ST candidates.

Not applicable to LS, state polls

The rotation by lottery system is unique to local self government. Elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies are governed by Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution which provide fixed reservations only for SC and ST constituencies decided by the Delimitation Commission based on the Census data.

Once a constituency is notified as reserved, it typically remains so until the next delimitation exercise which can occur decades apart. There is no lottery or rotation every five years.

Also there is no reservation for OBCs in either the Lok Sabha or State Assemblies.

The Constitution 106th Amendment Act 2023 also called the Women’s Reservation Bill or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. However, this reservation will be implemented only after the next Census and subsequent Delimitation.

Concern for corporators

While the system is said to promote equitable representation and also prevents politicians from turning wards into fiefs keeping them on their toes, a section feels that the system breeds political instability and often displaces corporators who have cultivated local networks for years.

“Owing to the uncertainty posed by the lottery-based reservation, several corporators also end up investing their energies in neighbouring wards which takes away focus from their actual wards. Majority of the corporators face this concern and this ends up affecting decision making in the city,” Hitesh Jain, a political data analyst, said.

Sachin Padwal, a former corporator from Sena UBT, said that it is a system often rendering capable corporators into forced retirement.
“Owing to the change in reservation a lot of times experience gets stolen from good corporators for no fault of their own. Increasing the number of nominated corporators can be one way to ensure fairness to deserving candidates,” said Padwal.

Strategies by parties

Faced with abrupt reservation shifts, political parties typically deploy three key strategies. Male corporators, when their wards are reserved for women, often field their wives, sisters or daughters as proxy candidates preserving both influence and continuity. When a ward becomes reserved for another category, sitting corporators look to adjoining constituencies within their area of influence leveraging their existing local base.

“When dealing with a major reshuffle, political parties choose to bank on their most popular faces allotting them seats outside their traditional domain. Since the party wants numbers they will depend on their most recognisable faces and how much they have helped people and even opt them for a completely different seat,” Asif Zakaria, former corporator from Congress, told The Indian Express.

The present system also allows political parties to nominate some of their members as corporators. The BMC allows five such nominations. Some senior corporators who miss out are brought in through the backdoor through this system. However only a lucky few get the chance to break in due to the limited number of seats.

Despite its drawbacks, many experts maintain that the purpose of the process boils down to representation.

“While a contender may get impacted, the system is crucial to ensure that the democratic principle of larger representation remains intact. Furthermore there should not be doubt on the system as the entire lottery process is carried out in open and is very fairly conducted” Surendra Jondhale, a political observer, said.

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