BMC reserves 63 wards for OBC, sets stage for BJP vs Sena battle

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has reserved 63 wards for the Other Backward Classes, with half of these reserved for OBC women, as per Supreme Court order. The fresh ward-wise reservations held at Bal Gandharva Rangmandir auditorium in Bandra in the presence of BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal and other top civic officials on Friday has set the stage for an intense civic election.

Once again, some senior civic leaders including Congress group leader Ravi Raja, BJP group leader Prabhakar Shinde, former Shiv Sena mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, Shiv Sena’s former house leader Trushna Vishwasrao, Sena Standing Committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav, and NCP group leader Rakhi Jadhav found their wards under reservation.

Rakhi Jadhav’s ward (No. 130) has been reserved for OBCs, while Vishwasrao’s (No. 185) has been reserved for OBC women candidates. Both were open wards earlier. Yashwant Jadhav’s ward (No. 217) and Mahadeshwar’s ward (No. 96) is now reserved for OBC women. Meanwhile, Prabhakar Shinde’s ward (No. 109) is reserved under the General Women category, and may force him to contest from the neighbouring ward. Congress councillor Asif Zakaria’s ward (No. 104) and Congress group leader Ravi Raja’s (No. 182) are reserved under the General Women category. Of the 63 wards reserved for OBCs, the civic body has chosen to reserve 53 wards which had never been reserved for OBC in the 2007, 2012, and 2017 elections, and conducted a lottery draw for 10 wards.

BJP’s Mihir Kotecha, and Congress leader Ravi Raja strongly objected to the reservation procedure. Kotecha has alleged that the OBC data given by the BMC to the State Election Commission is flawed, and has shot a letter to the Commissioner. Congress Group Leader Ravi Raja objected to the manner in which OBC reservation process was conducted. He said there is a discernible pattern showing barely any open wards in certain stretches. “In 10 wards in G and F North, not a single ward is left for General open category candidates. Similarly, in F South, almost all wards from Nos. 174 to 193 (except 176) have been reserved. Since these are in Mumbai city and north Mumbai, the reservation is likely to hit the Congress and the Shiv Sena. This time 11 out of 29 Congress councillors have got reserved wards,” he said.