MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Marathi manoos push, designed after the Thackeray cousins joined forces ahead of the civic body elections, was on Saturday reflected in its mayoral pick in 52-year-old Ritu Rajesh Tawde, a corporator from Ghatkopar’s ward 132.
In fact, it is Tawde’s Konkani-Marathi background that spring-boarded her for the mayoral post – a position already reserved for a woman from the open category — although the party had several other options, said BJP’s Mumbai president Ameet Satam. “Apart from her Marathi background, she is also a second-time corporator and has served as our Mahila Morcha president. We wanted to reach out to the Marathi manoos, particularly those who are Konkani and Malvani speaking – we wished to convey this message through this move. Tawde has been with the BJP for the past 14 years,” said Satam.
Apart from a party worker, the Mumbai-based political leader is an entrepreneur and a social worker, known for her focus on civic administration and women’s empowerment.
A commerce graduate and an entrepreneur, Tawde comes from a farming background from Konkan and Pune. She is married to Rajesh Madhukar Tawde, a transport contractor, and has two children – daughter Madhura, who is a lawyer, and son Yash, who is a computer engineer.
She built her political career through the party’s women’s wing – the Mahila Morcha — where she held key positions including that of vice president of the state and district president of north-east Mumbai. She had previously served as a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from 2012 to 2017. Her administrative experience also includes serving as director of the state’s Women Economic Development Corporation.
Her work however has extended beyond politics into social welfare – she founded the Sahara General Workers Union, chairs the Maratha Pratishtha (Maharashtra), and heads the Swamini Women’s Service Cooperative Society, which focuses on community welfare through service centres and outreach programmes.
She organised over 50 health camps during the Covid-19 pandemic, distributed free medicines and ensured food supplies for families in need. In the past, she is also known to have advocated for consumer and civic rights, protested electricity tariff hikes, and pushed for action against child labour in Mithi River’s desilting.
She is also known to have led hygiene awareness drives, facilitated insurance coverage for unorganised workers, and organised skill-development programmes under government schemes. She also raised key infrastructure concerns such as the widening of the Vidyavihar railway bridge and water shortages in Ghatkopar. Her campaign against objectionable statues of women in public advertising also helped drive awareness and restrictions on such displays.
Given her body of work, the mayor’s position will be more than just ceremonial, said Satam. “The mayor will drive the administration in a positive direction with a focus on giving BMC corruption-free governance and transparent administration, and actualise everything we have enlisted in our manifesto,” he said. “We will be strict with our corporators – everything we do will be in the interest of the Mumbaikar. We will continue with community engagement to take feedback from locals.”
Payal Shah, convenor of Ritu Tawde’s core team in the BJP ladies wing, described her rise as inspiring, “not least for her warmth and approachability”.
“She has a rare ability to bring people together across cultural, economic and social backgrounds, identifying each person’s strengths and giving them due respect. Grounded yet dynamic, she is a result-oriented leader who has risen purely through her own hard work and merit,” said Shah.
Delving into her name, she said, “Ritu, which means ‘seasons,’ perfectly mirrors her leadership. Like the seasons, she remains a constant, navigating ups and downs, challenges, and opportunities with equal grace and strength. She is known to adapt in demanding times and remains hopeful. Her ability to stay grassroots-oriented while leading through every phase will make her an exceptional mayor.”