BJP corporator Ritu Tawde elected Mumbai’s mayor; Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi becomes deputy mayor
Mumbai (PTI): BJP corporator Ritu Tawde was elected mayor of Mumbai on Wednesday, while Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi became the deputy mayor.
Both Tawde and Ghadi were elected unopposed in a special meeting of the general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
After the election process was completed at the BMC headquarters, Tawde took charge as the 78th mayor of Mumbai amid sloganeering from both the ruling and opposition party corporators.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, were present during the ceremony. They congratulated the newly elected mayor and deputy mayor.
Tawade is a corporator from Ward 132, while Ghadi was elected from Ward 5 in the January 15 civic elections.
In the absence of an elected general body, BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani had been overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the civic corporation since March 2022.
With Tawde’s elevation, the BJP has secured the mayor’s post in the country’s richest civic body after a gap of 44 years. She is the second mayor from the BJP in Mumbai.
Earlier, Gagrani conducted the election process in the BMC’s historic Committee Hall in his capacity as the state-appointed presiding officer.
Ahead of the proceedings, corporators of the BJP and Shiv Sena gathered at Hutatma Chowk to pay floral tributes before proceeding to the BMC headquarters.
In the polls to the 227-member BMC last month, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, while Shiv Sena won 29 seats. The ruling alliance, with a combined strength of 118 corporators, was past the halfway mark of 114 and was well placed to secure the mayor’s post.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997, won 65 seats, while its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), won six and one seat, respectively.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
