Bombay (Mumbai), Feb 3: It’s really crazy the way politics bows to all these reservations. Do you know that Municipal Corporations in Maharashtra cannot have a mayor based on merit, but that the post is chosen by lottery? That’s really throwing things to chance. 

Surprised? Well here’s the PTI report :

The 227-member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) which goes to the polls later this month will have a mayor from the general category this time.

Five years ago, the post was reserved for women.

Apart from Mumbai, Latur, Dhule, Malegaon, Akola, Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi and Ahmednagar too will have mayors from general category this time.

The post would be reserved for women in 14 of the total of 27 municipal corporations in Maharashtra.

Of these 14 mayoral posts reserved for women, two will be for scheduled castes and four for OBCs and eight for women from open category.

So much for the ‘gender reservations’, now read further:

Of the  remaining 13  mayor posts, one post each would be reserved for SC and ST, and  three for OBCs. That leaves eight mayor positions for the so-called ‘general’ category.

The lottery for reservation for the mayoral posts in 27 municipal corporations was announced today in Mantralaya.

Nashik Municipal Corporation mayor’s post will be reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Amravati mayor’s post will be reserved for Scheduled Castes.

Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Solapur, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar will have women mayors from open category.

Nanded and Panvel will have women mayors from SC category. Mira Bhyander, Jalgaon, Sangli, Chandrapur will have women mayors from OBC category.

Pimpri-Chinchwad, Aurangabad, Navi Mumbai will have mayors from OBC category.

Flummoxed? Well that’s the political quota game at its height!

  Maharashtra, naked truth