Maharashtra civic polls: Denied ticket, 2-time BJP corporator takes on party in Sena (UBT) colours

R Central, a BJP-dominated administrative division, is one of only two wards in the city where 80% of seats are reserved for women. Despite the region being a party stronghold and the presence of several seasoned women workers, the distribution of tickets to new faces has sparked discontent among ground workers in some pockets.

One such example is electoral ward No. 13 (Magathane), where dissatisfaction over the BJP's candidate selection has led to a fallout. Asawari Patil, 65, a two-time BJP corporator from wards 13 and 14 and a party worker for over three decades, has switched sides after being denied a ticket. Patil, who believes this election could be her final stint as a corporator, initially planned to contest as an independent. However, she accepted a ticket from Shiv Sena (UBT) after the party approached her.


"I have been working in this area since 1992, but I got my first party ticket only in 2012 and then in 2017. I won both elections. This time, I was shocked and disappointed when the party kept me waiting until the last minute and eventually gave the ticket to a new face," Patil said. The contest in No. 13 is now set to be closely watched. The BJP has fielded first-time candidate Rani Dwivedi-Nighot, while Patil will contest on a Sena (UBT) ticket. The result is expected to test whether the BJP's strength would win over Patil's long-standing presence in the area. No other parties have fielded candidates in the ward.

Patil is not the only senior leader to be sidelined. Two-time corporator Bina Doshi and 2017 corporator Anjali Khedkar were also not granted tickets, as party insiders claimed that "the BJP seemed to have opted for younger and more educated candidates in the division over experience". Meanwhile, three-time corporator Pravin Shah from No. 15, is out of the fray after the seat was reserved for a woman. Shah told TOI that he would back any candidate that the party fields. Shivanand Shetty, a Congress corporator from 2012, who later backed an employee in 2017 after the ward was reserved for women, will be contesting on the BJP ticket after a gap of 13 years. He said that he has worked with the locals for 25 years and is expecting a win with a huge margin.

Mangrove depletion in R Central and in the neighbouring wards, caused by encroachment, and some due to the Versova-Bhayander coastal road alignment, is a growing concern. The Bombay High Court's clearance to cut nearly 45,000 mangroves across the entire route has intensified fears of increased climate risk and coastal flooding, especially in a ward already burdened by severe air pollution from extensive construction activity.

Environmentalists recently staged a protest against the proposed coastal road project. The loss of natural buffers will have a negative impact on the entire biodiversity of the region. "There are over 150 species of birds in these regions which are frequented by students and enthusiasts. We have regularly seen construction activities spreading into the greens. The residents are anyway grappling with lung issues due to higher AQI," said an activist.

Supporting the development, BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay, said, "Mumbai's traffic movement is always going vertical, from north to south and vice versa. Decongesting the Western Express Highway will be almost impossible unless parallel corridors and alternatives are explored." He said he has been in touch with civic officials to explore options to compensate for the loss of mangroves. Upadhyay said that once connectivity from Borivli to Nariman Point and Thane improves significantly through these projects, the suburb will emerge as one of the city's most desirable residential options.

According to Upadhyay, one of the problems plaguing the region is the unequal distribution of resources. "Even as development is happening closer to the coastline, towards Gorai and Manori, water supply is an issue, access to schools and hospitals are a problem too, but we are trying to resolve these through the corporation," said Upadhyay. He claimed that only eight per cent of the suburb comprises slums and in the next five to six years, they will be working towards making Borivli completely free of shanties.

Congress leader Bhushan Patil, who lives in the same ward, said traffic congestion near Borivli station areas is worsening by the day. "There is complete mismanagement of traffic on S V Road. The road crossings and dividers created through barricades are planned in such a way that they only add to the congestion."

The ward has emerged as a major construction hub, with extensive activity by both private developers and government agencies contributing to higher AQI levels. In 2025, until Nov, the municipal corporation issued the highest number of show-cause notices and stop-work notices in this ward for non-compliance of mandated air pollution mitigation measures.