Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Jan 12: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election ballot this year reads less like a list of politicians and more like a living directory of Mumbai’s working population, reflecting the city’s vast and diverse labour landscape.
From paanwalas and bartanwalas to drivers, domestic workers, tailors, teachers and retired civic staff, candidates across wards have declared professions that mirror everyday Mumbai. Among them are a transgender candidate who has listed “bhiksha” (begging) as a profession, a mathadi worker, a bus driver, a postman and even a vada pav seller with assets running into crores.
Affidavits filed by candidates reveal beauty parlour workers, chai stall vendors, autorickshaw drivers, milkmen, ASHA workers, tiffin service providers and daily wage labourers, all stepping into the electoral arena. The BMC election has, in effect, turned into an open register of the city’s informal and semi-formal economy.
The single largest occupational category listed is simply “business”, with around 650 candidates describing themselves as entrepreneurs — ranging from small shop owners and scrap dealers to travel operators and logistics firms. Housewives form the second-largest group, followed by salaried employees and professionals such as advocates, doctors and educators.
Independent candidate Sanjay Sakpal, a driver contesting from Kandivli, said he entered the fray to draw attention to neglected neighbourhoods facing water shortages, lack of schools and rising crime. “It doesn’t even feel like part of Mumbai,” he remarked.
In Jogeshwari East, BSP candidate Ghulam Ali Aksari, who identifies as transgender and lists begging as a profession, said contesting elections was a long-held dream to improve living conditions for the poor. His presence on the ballot challenges traditional notions of representation and political eligibility.
Several candidates described their political entry as a result of accumulated frustration rather than ambition. BSP’s Katarmal Lakhan, also a driver, said decades of neglect and unresolved housing issues pushed him into politics, with basic demands like streetlights and toilets topping his agenda.
There is no minimum education requirement for contesting, and asset declarations range from zero to several crores. Many campaigns are reportedly sustained through small local contributions, underscoring the grassroots nature of participation.
When grouped together, the affidavits reveal that roughly 35 per cent of candidates come from business and trade, about 25 per cent are homemakers, around 20 per cent are salaried workers, while smaller segments represent self-employed individuals, professionals and educators.
Taken together, the candidate profiles form a social map of Mumbai — marked by informal work, unstable incomes and personal struggles that rarely find space in formal political narratives.
More than a civic contest, the BMC election has become a moment where Mumbai sees itself reflected on the ballot — layered, unequal, industrious and hopeful — suggesting that for many, participation itself is an act of belief in change.