Navi Mumbai: With the Navi Mumbai mayor’s post reserved for a woman after 15 years, former civic standing committee chairperson Netra Shirke emerged as the frontrunner. Rekha Mhatre, a close relative of local heavyweight Ganesh Naik, is another claimant. Other contenders include Shubhangi Patil (Turbhe), Madhuri Sutar (Nerul) and Aditi Naik (Koparkhairane), as well as Vaishnavi Naik, wife of Vaibhav Naik, a nephew of Ganesh Naik. Mhatre’s mother-in-law, Vijaya Mhatre, had served as Navi Mumbai’s second woman mayor in 1998. With the reservation, Sagar Naik, another nephew of Ganesh Naik, missed the bus for the post, but was on Friday appointed BJP’s group leader in NMMC. The party registered 66 corporators, including Independent Bharat Bhoir who extended support, at Konkan Bhavan. In Panvel, Mamata Mhatre, wife of former LoP in the civic body Pritam Mhatre, is leading the race for the mayor’s post reserved for OBC. —B B Nayak
