MUMBAI: Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who replicated the Shiv Sena’s huge assembly election win in the local body elections last month, has played his trump card yet again. After getting significant support from women voters on account of the Ladki Bahin scheme, Shinde, with an eye on the ongoing zilla parishad elections and even the 2029 general elections, has appointed three women mayors in the civic bodies of Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli (KDMC) and Ulhasnagar.
Of the 9,70,25,119 voters in Maharashtra, 4,69,96,279 are female, which makes for 48% women voters in the state. It was this vote bank that Shinde targeted after the Mahayuti did abysmally in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections—as chief minister then, he launched the Ladki Bahin scheme with a monthly dole of ₹1,500 just before the assembly elections of November 2024. As a result, 65% of the total registered women voters came out to vote, and the Mahayuti government registered a massive victory with 235 seats. Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 57 seats.
Although Ladki Bahin was based on similar schemes in BJP-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh and Goa, Shinde showed his political acumen by prefacing the name of the scheme with ‘Mukhyamantri’ (chief minister). With this, he ensured that he and his party would benefit amid the credit race between the Mahayuti’s three parties, including the BJP and the NCP. In fact the NCP’s chief, then finance minister Ajit Pawar, was the one who actually announced the scheme in the budget.
With the appointment of three women mayors in MMR, Shinde has reinforced his image as a leader with pro-women policies. In Thane, the mayor’s post is reserved for a person from the scheduled castes, in Kalyan-Dombivli for the scheduled tribes and in Ulhasnagar for OBC candidates. Despite having the choice to appoint male mayors in the three civic bodies, Shinde designated women—Sharmila Pimplolkar-Gaikwad in Thane, Harshali Thavil in KDMC and Ashiwini Nikam in Ulhasnagar. The message he intends sending is loud and clear: Dy CM Shinde stands by women leaders and gives opportunities to his ladki bahins (dear sisters), not out of compulsion but by choice.
According to Shiv Sena leaders, this is not the first time that Shinde has encouraged women politicians—they say that even in the party organisation and the local body elections, he placed his trust in women leaders. After the split in the Shiv Sena, it was Shinde who appointed Bhavana Gawali, Neelam Gorhe and Meena Kambli to the post of ‘Leader’, considered prestigious in the party organisation. During the BMC elections, of the 90 seats contested by Shinde’s party, he gave over 50% of the seats to women candidates.
“The appointment of three women mayors is a continuation of Eknath Shinde’s pro-women policies,” said Shiv Sena spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre. “Earlier too, he has given important posts to the Sena’s women leaders and not just in posts reserved for women.” Mhatre added that in the BMC elections, of the party’s 29 elected corporators, 19 were women, and many had won from a general seat and would get the opportunity to work on important committees.
“Now by appointing three women as mayors despite there being no women reservation shows his commitment to women empowerment,” said Mhatre. “He could give such opportunities to women leaders in the zilla parishad and panchayat samiti elections as well.”
According to political analyst Abhay Deshpande, Shinde’s appointment of the women mayors is part of his long-term politics to build female vote banks. Deshpande recalled Shinde’s assembly election campaign in which he focused on the Ladki Bahin scheme and presented himself as the beloved brother who cared for his dear sisters. “Now by appointing women mayors, he has sent out a signal that he will give importance to women leaders in the party,” he said. “This will help him retain the female vote bank in long-term politics, including the 2029 general elections.”