Mumbai’s political corridors are buzzing as the Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to declare its candidate for the powerful Mayor’s post of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Saturday morning. Party insiders say the announcement will be made after an early meeting of BJP corporators at the BMC headquarters, setting the tone for the mayoral election scheduled next week.

According to party sources, the Mumbai BJP leadership will formally name its nominee around 9 am. Soon after the announcement, BJP corporators are likely to submit their nomination papers, completing the procedural formalities ahead of the crucial vote. The election for both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor will take place at the BMC headquarters at noon on February 11.

As per the seat-sharing understanding within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, the Mayor’s post will go to the BJP, while the Deputy Mayor’s position will be allotted to the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Several names are doing the rounds within the BJP as potential mayoral faces. Among the strongest contenders is Rajshree Shirwadkar, a three-term corporator with significant organisational backing in Mumbai. Another prominent name is Ritu Tawde, a senior corporator from Ghatkopar known for her grassroots work. Sheetal Gambhir, daughter of former MLA Suresh Gambhir and a two-time corporator from Mahim, is also being discussed as a serious option.

The mayoral contest follows the recently concluded BMC elections, where the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance emerged comfortably ahead of the majority mark. Out of the 227-member civic body, the alliance secured 118 seats, crossing the halfway mark on its own. With the Nationalist Congress Party, another Mahayuti partner, holding three additional seats, the ruling bloc’s strength rises further.

In the opposition camp, the Shiv Sena (UBT faction) secured 65 seats, Congress won 24, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena bagged six, and NCP (SP) managed only one seat. Electoral alignments during the polls saw Sena (UBT) and MNS fighting together, while Congress and NCP (SP) chose to contest independently.