Mumbai: The recently conducted mayoral reservation lottery for 17 municipalities, including Mumbai, has sparked political controversy as the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction boycotted the draw, claiming that Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates were unfairly treated.
With the lottery held for general category women candidates, the ruling BJP in Mumbai secured a relatively smoother path to the mayoral post, while the Thackeray group raised objections, alleging that the reservation system deliberately excluded certain communities.
Thackeray Faction Speaks Out
Kishori Pednekar, a key leader from the Thackeray faction, accused the authorities of discriminatory practices:
“This lottery system was designed by looking at the ruling party’s mandate. OBCs and Scheduled Castes were denied their rightful representation. Earlier, the lottery used to be transparent, but now, why are ST and SC categories being excluded? This is a deliberate injustice.”
Pednekar questioned why OBC candidates were not included in the reservation draw this time, pointing out inconsistencies compared to previous lotteries. She termed the process biased and premeditated.
State Minister Responds
Urban Development State Minister Madhuri Misal dismissed the allegations, stating that the objections raised by the Thackeray group were not grounded in any official rule. She added that the government would consider their concerns, but the reservation lottery was conducted as per existing regulations.
“They raised objections loudly, but there is no basis in law for their demands regarding reservation in Mumbai,” the minister clarified.
Reservation Details Across 29 Municipalities in Maharashtra
The mayoral reservation for various municipalities has been categorized as follows:
Scheduled Tribes (ST) – 1
- Kalyan-Dombivli
Scheduled Castes (SC) – 3
- Thane
- Jalna (Female)
- Latur (Female)
Other Backward Classes (OBC) – 8
- Panvel
- Ichalkaranji
- Ahilyanagar
- Ulhasnagar
- Jalgaon (Female)
- Kolhapur (Female)
- Akola (Female)
- Chandrapur (Female)
General Category – 17
- Mumbai (Female)
- Navi Mumbai (Female)
- Mira Bhayandar (Female)
- Pimpri-Chinchwad (Female)
- Nashik (Female)
- Nagpur (Female)
- Nanded (Female)
- Dhule (Female)
- Pune (Female)
- Sangli (Female)
- Malegaon (General)
- Solapur (General)
- Chouta Sambhajinagar (General)
- Amravati (General)
- Vasai-Virar (General)
- Parbhani (General)
- Bhiwandi (General)
The lottery controversy has reignited debates over political influence, community representation, and fairness in Maharashtra’s municipal governance, with the Uddhav faction vowing to continue highlighting alleged irregularities.
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