Pune Mayor’s Post Reserved for General Women Category, BJP Women Corporators in the Race
Pune, 22nd January 2026: The reservation draw for the post of Mayor of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has brought a major political twist, as the post has been reserved for the General Women category. This has ended the hopes of several senior male corporators who were expecting the mayoral seat to fall in the general (male) category.
The draw was conducted in Mumbai in the presence of Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal. Reservation lots for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra were drawn, including Pune. After the PMC election results, all eyes were on the reservation outcome for the mayor’s post, as it would determine who could stake a claim to the city’s top civic office.
From 2017 to 2022, the Pune mayor’s post was reserved for the General category, during which Mukta Tilak and Murlidhar Mohol served as mayors. This time, there was intense speculation that the post might go to OBC (General or Women) or SC/ST (Women or Men) categories. Many corporators from these groups had started lobbying within their parties. However, with the post now reserved for General Women, male aspirants have been ruled out.
In the current PMC house, the BJP has 67 women councillors, giving the party a strong pool of potential candidates. Following the announcement, enthusiasm has surged among women corporators, and several names are being discussed for the mayor’s post.
These include Manjusha Nagpure, Varsha Tapkir, Mansi Deshpande, Smita Vaste, Aishwarya Surendra Pathare, Manjushri Khardekar, Archana Patil, Ujjwala Jangle, Ranjana Tilekar, Swarada Bapat, Nivedita Ekbote, Kalpana Varpe, and Manisha Chorbole, among others.
The final decision, however, is likely to be taken after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis returns from Davos, where he is currently attending the World Economic Forum. Party leaders are expected to seal the name of the next Pune Mayor after his return, which is due in the next two days.
Until then, political circles in Pune are abuzz with speculation over who will get the opportunity to lead the city as its first mayor under the new reservation cycle for the General Women category.
