As Maharashtra gears up for high-stakes elections, Mumbai is certainly defying the perception that highly-qualified professionals do not participate in electoral
politics as the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Election 2026 have several academically accomplished candidates. The BMC election will have candidates who are PhD holders, MBA graduates, and a candidate holding a doctoral degree from ICT Matunga, according to a TOI report. The PhD graduate is from IIT Bombay, who served with the government body CDAC and later as a professor at Pennsylvania State University. The MBA graduate completed his degree from London Metropolitan University. Moreover, several candidates also hold double post-graduates and an MBA. This signifies that professionals and highly educated individuals are willing to enter politics "to make a difference".
Who Are These Candidates?
53-year-old Urjaswala Vora bagged a doctoral degree in computer science from IITB and went on to teach at a US university for a few years. Now, Vora is contesting as an independent in Ward 66 (parts of Andheri West, Juhu Gully).
"After working for over two decades at a government organisation, I took voluntary retirement and went to the US to be with my children. I got an opportunity to teach in a university in Pennsylvania for over 3 years," she said, adding, "Though I can resume, I wanted to return and serve people here in some way. I have seen the condition of civic schools and want to work for their betterment," TOI reported.
Candidate Ganesh Awasthi, 48, contested in 2017 as a citizen candidate and bagged 3,000 votes. In this election, he is on a Congress ticket, hoping to make a mark in Ward 149 (Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Chheda Nagar).
Awasthi, who was raised in a slum pocket in Chembur, studied in a BMC school and went on to do his MBA from London Metropolitan University on a scholarship.
Later, he worked at Barclays in the UK, but returned when his father was unwell. After his father's demise, he followed in his footsteps and got into social work. "I understand local problems better than any candidate," he said.
The next candidate, 37-year-old Pratik Kamble, is a double post-graduate and also holds a Master's in Social Work and an MA in Political Science from Mumbai University. He is contesting from Sewree's Ward 202 on a BSP ticket, positioning himself as a young face with long grassroots exposure and a "clean past" who also does farming in his Solapur village.
Hetal Gala Morvekar is contesting on a BJP ticket. Morvekar, a PhD holder from ICT, quit the pharma industry to join social work. Moreover, 29-year-old Swati Borkar from Shiv Sena (UBT) did her MBA and MCom, and is into social work.
According to the TOI report, nearly a fourth of candidates running for Mumbai elections are graduates.
Also Read: BMC Election 2026: Full Schedule, Voting Day And Time, Results Date And Other Key Details
All About BMC Election 2026
With nearly 3.5 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots, the civic polls are being closely watched, particularly the battle for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India’s richest civic body.
A total of 15,931 candidates are in the fray across the state. Mumbai alone has around 1,700 candidates, while Pune has 1,166. The elections are being held after a gap of more than six years, as the tenure of these civic bodies ended between 2020 and 2023.
Polling will be held for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations, with voting scheduled from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm on January 15. Counting of votes will take place on January 16.
