From mayor to chairperson, war for BMC has barely ended

Mumbai: With the day of appointment of Mayor for the BMC inching closer, other newly elected corporators have begun eyeing remaining prestigious posts in the BMC, including those of chairpersons of the 17 ward level committees across the city. After the new Mayor is elected in the BMC on Wednesday, the civic body will elect chairmen of various committees which function from the BMC headquarters, on Thursday, followed by the election of the ward committee chairman on Friday or Saturday this week.

Owing to the importance of this ward committee, the post of chairman for the same is also much coveted. The ward committee chairman is in charge of conducting hearings at the respective wards, and decisions of ward level development projects, along with local actions against encroachments, and unauthorised constructions are taken at the ward level. Traditionally, the ward committee chairman belongs to the party with maximum number of corporators elected from any given ward.

The chairman is elected by the corporators from the said wards in the presence of the Mayor, and the party with maximum representatives gains more votes during these elections. Even though there are 24 administrative wards in the city, there are only 17 ward committees. One chairman will be elected to represent the F/South and the F/ North wards, combined. Similarly, the H/East and the H/West wards will also share a committee, like the R/Central and R/North wards, the S and T wards, and the A, B, and E wards.

It is likely that the A, B, and E ward committee will be chaired by a BJP corporator, which has won three seats from this area.