Samajwadi Party releases second list of 9 candidates for Mumbai civic polls

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 28 : The Samajwadi Party has released its second list of candidates for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, naming nine candidates to contest from various wards in Mumbai.
This comes after the party announced its first list of 21 candidates earlier, and it plans to contest all 227 seats independently.
According to the list released, it contains a mix of nine individuals chosen to represent diverse neighbourhoods following directions from the Samajwadi Party Mumbai and Maharashtra State President Abu Asim Azmi.
From Ward 39 to Ward 209, the list includes several female candidates (such as Sunaina Vishwakarma and Rajashri Lokhande), suggesting an attempt to appeal to a broad demographic and meet gender representation goals.
Candidates like Mohammad Ismail Shaikh and Zakir Hussain Moosa Habiya are being positioned as the "faces" of their respective wards, tasked with addressing local civic issues, particularly in areas with significant minority and working-class populations.
According to the list released by the party, Sunaina Kuldeep Lal Vishwakarma has been fielded from Ward No. 39, Mohammad Ismail Shaikh from Ward No. 48, and Ruksana Bano Mohd. Ibrahim from Ward No. 145. Rajashri Dashrath Lokhande will contest from Ward No. 147, while Yusufjaha Ayub Khan has been nominated from Ward No. 163.
Shaikh Tabassum Haroon will contest from Ward No. 167, Mohammed Shakeel Mohammed Amin Qureshi from Ward No. 207, Seema Imran Mulla from Ward No. 209, and Zakir Hussain Moosa Habiya from Ward No. 137.
These candidates will now begin intensive door-to-door campaigning to secure their seats in the city's governing body.
SP on Friday announced its first list of 21 candidates. The nominated candidates will contest from areas like Pydhonie, Zaveri Bazar, Byculla, Govandi, and Andheri East, among others.
In the 2017 BMC elections, the Samajwadi Party secured six seats in the 227-member general body. The party, led by Abu Azmi, has decided to contest the polls independently without any alliances.
On Saturday, Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ameet Satam said that the Mahayuti has reached a seat-sharing agreement on 207 seats.
"We have also reached an agreement on seat sharing. The BJP will contest 128 seats, and the Shiv Sena will contest 79 seats. Seat-sharing talks have concluded for 207 seats. For the remaining 20 seats, we will decide based on the candidate and the party after a decision is made at the higher level," Satam told reporters here after a meeting between the BJP and Shiv Sena concluded.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray called for Marathi unity after his party forged an alliance with Raj Thackeray-led MNS for the upcoming BMC elections.
The State Election Commission in Maharashtra has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
BMC will witness polling in 227 electoral wards. Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16.