MUMBAI: The disqualification of Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Vishakha Raut, a former mayor of Mumbai, has triggered a bitter battle between the Sena (UBT) and Shiv Sena, which stands to reap significant political gains with Raut’s departure from the BMC. It has also cast doubts on whether the ruling dispensation is bending the law to its advantage – while staying within its bounds.
Raut had contested the BMC election from the high-profile ward 191, which covers Shivaji Park and Dadar west, a reserved constituency. Raut had won the election by just 197 votes. The mechanism for replacing a disqualified BMC corporator with the runner-up candidate was introduced into Section 33(2) of the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 by an amendment 1905. On the other hand, local self-governing bodies in the rest of the state are governed by the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949; Village Panchayats Act, 1959; and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961. 63 of the 227 electoral wards in Mumbai are reserved for OBC candidates. In the 2026 BMC elections, ward 191, from which Raut contested and won, was reserved for OBC candidates. Prior to this, Raut served two terms as a corporator and was mayor of Mumbai in 1997-98. Raut also represented the Dadar assembly constituency as MLA in 1999-2004.
In Raut’s case, for instance, the BMC declared her election void soon after the Palghar District Caste Scrutiny Committee announced its decision, a move firmly underlined by the state urban development department (UDD). Raut’s is the fifth corporator to be disqualified since the January civic election but the controversy over Raut losing her seat has left the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) seething. Her disqualification follows a complaint made by Priya Sarvankar-Gurava, daughter of veteran Sena leader and former MLA Sada Sarvankar. The battle involves a high-profile ward, dominated by the Maharashtrian community, and one the Sena is keen to control. The BMC is the only local self-government body in the state that does not require a by-election when a corporator is disqualified. Each of these laws mandates a by-election when a seat falls vacant. Thus, the BMC Act uniquely creates a gateway for political interference to colour the administrative process. The UDD, headed by Eknath Shinde, whose Shiv Sena stands to gain by Raut’s disqualification, almost immediately issued a notification barring Raut from contesting BMC polls for six years. She contested all these elections in the open category.
With the Palghar District Caste Scrutiny Committee invalidating her OBC claim – her appeal is pending before the divisional commissioner – it paves the way for the runner-up candidate, Priya Sarvankar-Gurava, to occupy the vacant seat.
