Navi Mumbai: Sujata Patil and Dashrath Bhagat from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were elected unopposed as the mayor and the deputy mayor of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Thursday, bringing to end the fierce tussle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena over the two posts.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, in a dramatic last minute move, pulled out of the race. The party had declared candidates for both posts after BJP strongman Ganesh Naik unilaterally declared Patil and Bhagat’s names on the last day of nominations, keeping even BJP leaders in the dark.
The atmosphere in the NMMC general body shifted when Shiv Sena group leader Manoj Haldankar announced the withdrawal of mayoral candidate Saroj Patil and deputy mayoral candidate Akash Madhvi, in the interest of “alliance dharma”.
The gesture was swiftly acknowledged by the ruling benches, with senior BJP corporator Ravindra Ithape saying, “The Shiv Sena has shown a big heart today.”
Following the withdrawals, presiding officer and Thane zilla parishad chief executive officer Ranjit Yadav formally declared Sujata Patil as the new mayor and veteran corporator Dashrath Bhagat as the deputy mayor.
In her acceptance speech, Patil, a second-time corporator and wife of Naik loyalist Suraj Patil, looked back at her personal journey as a symbol of women’s empowerment.
“From a housewife to a corporator, then chairperson of the Women and Child Welfare Committee, and now mayor—this opportunity proves the progressive mindset of our leadership,” Patil said.
She expressed gratitude to her mentor Ganesh Naik, while also thanking Eknath Shinde “for his role in this unopposed victory”.
Outlining her vision, Patil promised a “transparent, speedy, and people-friendly administration” which prioritises cleanliness, water supply, health, and pending infrastructure projects.
Newly elected deputy mayor Dashrath Bhagat expressed confidence in the opposition’s continued cooperation.
“The House belongs to the people, though corporators may belong to different parties,” he said. “We are confident that the opposition, which ensured an unopposed election today, will come together for all the positive work we shall do.”
Ganesh Naik, the architect of the BJP’s sweeping civic victory, said he was not against anyone and would not target anyone.
“Those who have done wrong, if they correct it, I will not have any problems. I will be discussing with the chief minister the wrongs that have been done in the city which need to be corrected,” Naik said.
A meeting of present and former corporators would soon be convened to prepare a five-year development plan for a Navi Mumbai that is clean and green, and free of beggars, transgenders and hawkers, he said.