The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections have presented an unprecedented snapshot of the city's socio-economic fabric, with ballot papers reading less like a political roster and more like a directory of Mumbai's vast informal workforce. This year's candidate list is a vivid tapestry of the city's everyday life, featuring professions rarely seen in formal politics.
From Paanwalas to Crorepatis: The Unconventional Candidate List
The affidavits submitted by candidates reveal a remarkable diversity. The list includes a transgender person who has declared their profession as 'bhiksha' (begging) with assets worth Rs 50,000, and a mathadi worker (head loader) with declared assets of Rs 26 lakh. There is a vada pav seller who is also a crorepati, alongside beauty parlour workers, chai stall vendors, auto-rickshaw drivers, tailors, an ASHA worker, and daily wage labourers.
The single largest category, however, is simply 'business', with around 650 candidates describing themselves as entrepreneurs. Their ventures range from cable and internet cafes to travel firms, scrap-dealing units, masala shops, and small logistics operations. Another 400 candidates are housewives, and a little over 100 are advocates.
This collection transforms the ballot paper into a cross-section of Mumbai's informal and semi-formal economy—a city where work is often fragmented, unstable, and self-defined. Here, occupational labels are not mere descriptions; they are claims to legitimacy, survival, and aspiration.
Professions on a Political Platform: Stories from the Ground
Several candidates embody this shift, using their professional identity as a core part of their political appeal. Sanjay Sakpal, who has declared his profession as 'driver', is contesting as an independent from Ward 26 in the Kandivli area. A grassroots activist for 26 years, Sakpal says his candidacy is an attempt to bring visibility to his neglected neighbourhood, which suffers from chronic water shortages, a lack of schools, and rising crime.
For him, the election is not a ladder upward but a tool to force administrative attention 'sideways' towards areas that exist within the city's geography but outside its political priorities.
In Jogeshwari East, Ghulam Ali Aksari, representing the Bahujan Samaj Party, has declared 'bhiksha' as their profession. Their presence on the ballot directly challenges conventional ideas about who gets to represent the city, highlighting how formal politics often excludes the most informal lives. "I always wanted to stand for elections and improve the city’s living conditions for the poor," Aksari stated.
In Ward 27, driver Katarmal Lakhan (BSP) says his entry into politics is driven by 'accumulation'—years of neglect and personal loss, including the demolition of his house 26 years ago. His priorities, if elected, are basic: toilets for women and street lighting to curb crime and drug peddling.
What the Affidavits Reveal: A Socio-Economic Profile
A detailed grouping of the professions listed in the affidavits paints a clear picture of the candidate pool:
- Business, Trade & Entrepreneurship (~35%): This is the largest group, encompassing traders, proprietors, shop owners, and consultants. It reflects the city's blend of enterprise and survival.
- Housewives/Homemakers (~25%): This significant bloc indicates the political entry of women whose primary, unpaid labour is often invisible in economic statistics.
- Service/Employment (~20%): This includes private and government job holders, representing the formal and semi-formal salaried middle class.
- Self-Employed Professionals (~5%): A smaller segment of freelancers, artists, and trainers, highlighting the gig economy's growing visibility.
- Recognised Professions (~7%): Advocates, doctors, CAs, and architects bring credentialed expertise to the fray.
- Education Sector (~6%): Teachers, professors, and coaches, though fewer in number, carry significant symbolic weight.
There is no minimum educational qualification required to contest, which further widens the field. The affidavits range from a domestic worker declaring zero assets and a monthly income of Rs 5,000 to a tailor with assets worth Rs 25 lakh.
More Than an Election: A City's Self-Portrait
Ultimately, the BMC election affidavits serve as a rare social map of Mumbai. They are stitched together from small trades, unstable incomes, and personal histories that seldom enter official narratives. They record not just what people do, but how they survive.
The election reveals a city run not only by planners and career politicians but by the cooks, drivers, tailors, and vendors who make urban life function yet are rarely invited into its governance. The ballot paper has become a mirror. What it reflects is not ideology or party machinery, but Mumbai itself: layered, precarious, industrious, unequal, and still hopeful enough to believe that participation might lead to tangible change.
