By now, your social media and news feeds are probably also flooded with news about Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral elections.
Even though he is not connected in any way to India, besides his Indian-American filmmaker mother Mira Nair, the Indian media is certainly partaking in his win’s celebrations.
While for sure his victory is historic in many ways, being the first Muslim and millennial of New York City, and his campaign has also shed massive light on the kind of politicians people gravitate toward, the question that many Indians have now raised is, what about our own local mayors?
How many of us know the names of our city mayors? Or know anything about how they are elected, what powers they possess and more.
Here, we take a look at the mayors of some of India’s major cities:
Currently, Bengaluru does not have a single, elected municipal council. The city’s municipal corporation, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), saw its last election take place in 2015, and the term of the council ended in September 2020.
The last mayor was M. Goutham Kumar, whose term ended in September 2020. On September 2nd, 2025, under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) was established, led by the state’s Chief Minister.
According to reports, instead of having a single municipal corporation, the city was divided into five smaller City Corporations (named East, West, Central, North, South), which would have their own individual council and mayor.
Bengaluru and Mumbai residents have expressed their frustration over the lack of clarity regarding their city municipal corporations and how it leaves them in a lurch with no recourse.
Read More: Will ‘One Nation, One Election’ Really Help Indian Elections?
It almost feels like the world is celebrating Mamdani’s win; however, it has also led a lot of the general public to take a long, hard look at our own mayoral sector and its drawbacks. The fact that in India, the mayor’s office still struggles to find that clarity and courage has to be questioned.
This is not because of a lack of capable leaders, but because of a system that refuses to trust them with power.
Until cities are allowed to elect mayors directly, for longer tenures, with clear budgets and executive control, India’s cities and their tryst with having true local leadership will remain a dream.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, Times of India, Moneycontrol
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Mamdani, zohran Mamdani, zohran Mamdani win, zohran Mamdani mayor, indian cities, indian cities mayor, indian mayor, india mayor, india mayor process, india mayor powers
Disclaimer: We do not hold any rights or copyright over any of the images used; these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly email us.
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