Ex-Mumbai Mayor disqualified from civic body over invalid caste certificate

Former Mumbai Mayor Vishakha Raut has been disqualified as a BMC corporator after her OBC certificate was invalidated. She has alleged political vendetta, while the order also bars her from contesting elections for six years.Ex-Mumbai Mayor Vishakha Raut disqualified as BMC corporator over invalid OBC certificate.Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Mumbai Mayor, Vishakha Raut, has been disqualified as a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporator after a caste scrutiny committee invalidated her OBC certificate, with the Maharashtra government also barring her from contesting elections for six years.Incumbent Mayor Ritu Tawde announced the development during the civic body's general body meeting on Monday, saying Raut's membership of the BMC House stood terminated with effect from August 20 following the invalidation of her caste certificate.The state Urban Development Department had issued the disqualification order late last week after the caste scrutiny committee rejected Raut's certificate.Raut had challenged the move in the Bombay High Court, but it rejected her plea against a communication issued by BMC chief Ashwini Bhide to the state government seeking a gazette notification declaring her disqualified. Raut has blamed the Devendra Fadnavis-led government for a political vendetta and questioned the speed with which the civic administration acted against her.“There is a saying in the BMC—‘BMC cha kaam ani saha mahine thamb’ (BMC work means waiting six months),” Raut said, questioning how quickly the process moved in her case. “This appears to have been pre-decided—to disqualify UBT Shiv Sena corporators having such issues at this speed. The political vendetta is clear."She also said the action could send a message to other Opposition corporators.“It is also a message to other Opposition corporators: if someone as senior as me can be disqualified, no one is safe,” she said.Raut further questioned whether political considerations played a role, saying that while she had never received an offer to join the ruling camp, she wondered whether the outcome would have been different had she accepted such an offer.The former mayor also raised questions over remarks allegedly made by her political rival Sada Sarvankar, saying he had visited the BMC and claimed that her election would be cancelled.“How did he know this?” Raut asked, suggesting that the statement raised questions about whether the decision had been predetermined.She maintained that no one had previously objected to her caste certificate and questioned how she could have obtained a certificate from Palghar despite being a Mumbai resident.Raut also cited Sarvankar's caste certificate and demanded that the same rules be applied to everyone.She was elected from Ward 191 in Dadar, a seat reserved for women from the OBC category. She defeated Shiv Sena candidate Priya Sarvankar, daughter of Sada Sarvankar, by 197 votes.With her disqualification, Raut has become the fifth BMC corporator to face similar action during the current term over caste certificate-related issues.Those previously disqualified include Roshan Shaikh from Ward 138 and Bushra Nadeem Malik from Ward 170, both elected from OBC-women reserved seats.AIMIM's Shamir Ramzan Patel, elected from Ward 137 in Govandi, and Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Deepak Sawant, elected from Ward 111 in Bhandup, have also faced disqualification on similar grounds.- Ends(With PTI inputs)Published By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Sep 8, 2026 09:01 IST