Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has officially announced Ritu Tawde as its candidate for the upcoming Mayor election of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the civic body overseeing India’s largest city.
According to reports, the announcement was made on Friday at the BMC headquarters by senior party leaders, with BJP’s Mumbai unit backing Tawde’s nomination for the 78th Mayor of the civic body.
Tawde — a senior BJP corporator from the Ghatkopar region — brings experience from successive terms in municipal governance. She first won a BMC seat in 2012 from Ward No. 127, later represented Ward No. 121, and most recently won from Ward No. 132 in the 2025 civic elections, reported NDTV.
She has also previously served as Chairperson of the BMC’s Education Committee, a role that added to her administrative credentials within the corporation. Party leaders highlighted her engagement with local issues and grassroots work as key reasons for her nomination.
The BMC elections, held on January 15, saw the BJP emerge as the single largest party, with the ruling alliance comfortably ahead of its rivals.
The mayoral election is scheduled for February 11, when corporators will vote to elect the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor, ending nearly four years of administrative rule at the civic body that followed the expiry of the previous council’s term in 2022.
