A statement by Maharashtra BJP vice president Kripashankar Singh about ensuring a North Indian mayor in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has sharply reignited the city's oldest and most sensitive political divide: the Marathi versus non-Marathi fault line. The remark, made just ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, has provided fresh ammunition to opposition parties like the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to accuse the BJP of promoting migrant political assertion at the cost of local Marathi pride.
The Controversial Remark and Immediate Backlash
At a public event in Mira Bhayandar on Wednesday, Kripashankar Singh, a former Congress MLA who later joined the BJP, was questioned about the absence of North Indian mayors in municipal corporations across Maharashtra. In his response, Singh declared, "We will elect so many corporators that a person from North India will become a mayor." This comment instantly triggered a political firestorm.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS launched a swift attack, framing the BJP's stance as an insult to the Marathi manoos (the Marathi common man). Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir accused BJP leaders of growing arrogance and stated that voters would not rest until this perceived affront was answered in the elections. Facing the backlash, Singh released a clarification video a day later, accusing political opponents of lacking real campaign issues. He shifted his narrative, asserting that the Mahayuti alliance's focus was on ensuring a "Hindu mayor" and victory across Maharashtra's civic bodies.
The ruling alliance moved quickly to contain the damage. Cabinet Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant distanced the party from Singh's initial statement, clarifying that Singh did not have the authority to present the BJP's official stand and that the decision on Mumbai's mayor would rest with the Chief Minister. Samant labeled the controversy as a deliberate opposition tactic on the eve of polls.
The Deep-Rooted Political Fault Line
The sensitivity surrounding political power for North Indians in Mumbai is not new; it is woven into the city's post-Independence political history. The city's politics has long been shaped by the contentious idea of who Mumbai truly belongs to. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement, which successfully fought for a Marathi-speaking state with Mumbai as its capital, entrenched the belief that political control of the city should remain with its "sons of the soil"—the Marathi-speaking population.
This legacy continues to cast a long shadow. Any suggestion of organized political ascendancy for North Indian communities is viewed by sections as a direct challenge to this original claim. The Shiv Sena's own rise to prominence in the late 1960s was built on mobilizing Marathi youth first against South Indian clerical workers and later against North Indian migrants, whom it accused of usurping local jobs. Even today, calls for greater North Indian representation are easily projected by political rivals as an attack on Marathi asmita (pride).
The composition of the BMC itself tells a story of shifting demographics and political representation. While the BMC once reflected Mumbai's famed diversity, it has steadily become more Marathi-dominated. In the 1970s, nearly 45% of corporators were non-Marathi. By the 2017 BMC elections, that share had fallen to 33%. However, that election also marked a significant shift: 76 non-Marathi candidates won, the highest number ever, increasing their share from 28% in 2012 to 33% in 2017.
Demographic Shifts and Electoral Realities
The 2017 civic polls, among the most closely fought in Mumbai's history, highlighted the changing electoral landscape. Following the breakup of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, the Sena emerged as the single largest party with 84 seats, but the BJP followed closely with 82—its best performance ever in the city. This BJP surge was significantly driven by its growing support among non-Marathi and migrant voters, a demographic whose numbers have swelled in Mumbai.
Census data on mother tongue provides clear evidence of this demographic transformation. The 2011 Census reveals that the number of Mumbai residents identifying Hindi as their mother tongue surged by over 40% in a decade, from 25.82 lakh in 2001 to 35.98 lakh in 2011. In contrast, the number of Marathi speakers in the city saw a marginal decline of 2.64%, from 45.23 lakh to 44.04 lakh over the same period.
While Marathi speakers remain the largest single linguistic group in Mumbai, followed by Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati speakers, the trend is unmistakable. The numbers of Marathi and Gujarati speakers have stagnated or declined, while Hindi speakers are the only major group showing sharp growth. This shift is even more pronounced in the wider MMR. In Thane district (where Mira Bhayandar is located) and Raigad, the Hindi-speaking population grew by over 80% and nearly 87%, respectively, between 2001 and 2011.
With the BJP in power at the Centre, the party has grown more comfortable projecting a pro-migrant image in Mumbai and has been more willing to promote non-Marathi leaders. This has, in turn, given migrant communities greater political confidence and organizational support to seek representation, cementing their status as a critical voting bloc. The controversy sparked by Kripashankar Singh's remark is, therefore, more than a mere election-season spat; it is a reflection of the ongoing tension between Mumbai's entrenched political identity and its rapidly changing demographic and electoral realities.
