2 women corporators in BMC, one each of AIMIM and NCP, disqualified over 'invalid' caste certificate

Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Two women corporators in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) -- one each belonging to the AIMIM and the NCP -- were disqualified on Friday after their caste validity certificates were declared invalid. Mayor Ritu Tawde made the announcement during the general body meeting of the civic body. With this, a total of four corporators have been disqualified from the Mumbai civic body on similar grounds within a span of one month. These two disqualified corporators are Roshan Shaikh and Bushra Nadeem Malik. While Shaikh, who belonged to the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), was elected from ward number 138, Malik was from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and represented ward number 170 in Kurla East. Both of them were elected from the seats reserved for OBC (women) category. However, following scrutiny, separate district caste certificate verification committees declared their caste validity certificates as invalid, the mayor said. With their disqualification, the strength of the AIMIM in the 227-member BMC House has come down to five, while that of the NCP to two. Last month, AIMIM corporator Shamir Ramzan Patel, elected from ward number 137 in Govandi, and Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Deepak Sawant, elected from ward number 111 in Bhandup's S Ward, were disqualified after the District Caste Certificate Verification Committee declared their caste validity certificates invalid. While announcing their disqualification, mayor Tawde said the memberships of the two corporators automatically stood terminated from the dates on which their caste validity certificates were declared invalid. Tawde said the caste validity certificate submitted by Shaikh on November 23, 2025, was declared invalid by the Parbhani District Caste Certificate Verification Committee on April 27 this year. Similarly, the caste validity certificate submitted by Malik on December 1, 2025, was declared invalid by the Akola District Caste Certificate Verification Committee on July 2 this year. PTI KK NP