Fri Jan 02 11:17:10 UTC 2026: ## Mumbai Mayor Race Heats Up: CM Fadnavis Promises “Hindu and Marathi” Leader

Mumbai, January 2, 2026 – Campaigning for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections intensified today as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared that the next mayor of Mumbai will be from the ruling Mahayuti alliance and will be both “Hindu and Marathi.”

Fadnavis’s statement follows weeks of heated debate among political parties regarding who should hold the city’s top civic post. The controversy was initially sparked by Mumbai BJP President Ameet Satam’s remarks about preventing a “Khan” from becoming mayor, drawing criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). MNS President Raj Thackeray, after recently joining forces with Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, had stated that Mumbai’s mayor would be Marathi and “one of ours.”

The Chief Minister addressed these claims during a public interaction called “Mahachavadi” while riding the city’s new underground Metro line. He clarified that former Minister Kripashankar Singh’s recent comments about electing a “north Indian and Hindi-speaking” mayor were not related to the Mumbai mayoral race. Singh had made those remarks in reference to the Mira Bhayandar municipal corporation.

The BMC elections, along with elections for 29 other municipal corporations in Maharashtra, are scheduled for January 15th, with vote counting set for the following day. The promise of a Hindu and Marathi mayor adds another layer of complexity and potential for division to an already highly contested election.

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