Who will be the 23rd mayor ?

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: With the elections now over, political parties have heaved a sigh of relief after months of intense democratic exercise. However, the process is not yet complete, as the election of the mayor remains the key focus.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a clear majority with 57 seats and is expected to elect the mayor. Nevertheless, the State Election Commission (SEC) has not yet announced the schedule for the mayoral election. At the same time, citizens are keen to know the social reservation category under which the mayor’s post will fall. Whether he/she be a male or female and also of which category.

Out of the 115 newly elected corporators, 58 are women. Among them, 67 are first-time corporators, while 48 are experienced members who have been elected for a second or third term.

The reservation for the mayor’s post will be decided through a lottery system. This draw will determine whether the seat is reserved for the general (open) category, Other Backward Class (OBC), or other reserved categories. Once the reservation is announced, political manoeuvring is expected to intensify, with BJP engaging in a fierce contest to secure the post of the city’s first citizen.

A challenge for BJP?

Although the BJP has emerged as the single largest party, it faces a potential challenge if the mayor’s post is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. In the 2025 general elections, based on the ST population, two seats were reserved for ST candidates—one for a male and one for a female. Of these, one seat was won by a female candidate from AIMIM, while the other was secured by a candidate from the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction).

As a result, the social reservation of the mayor’s seat has become a major point of discussion, not only among citizens but also within political circles.

Box

Party-wise strength of corporators

BJP - 57

AIMIM - 33

Shinde Sena - 13

Uddhav Sena - 06

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi - 04

Congress - 01 and

NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) - 01

Total – 115