Crorepati Candidates Dominate Civic Polls Across Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Kalyan / Navi Mumbai / Panvel | Undercover Editor News Channel, January 2026

As the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) heads into crucial municipal corporation elections on January 15, a striking trend has emerged across major civic bodies — a sharp rise in crorepati candidates contesting local body polls, cutting across party lines.

An analysis of candidates’ affidavits filed before the elections reveals that more than half of the contestants in Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai and Panvel municipal corporations are crorepatis, with several declaring assets exceeding ₹100 crore. The data highlights the growing influence of wealth, particularly from the real estate and infrastructure sectors, in grassroots politics.

Kalyan-Dombivli: Real Estate Wealth Takes Centre Stage

In the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), three candidates have declared assets worth more than ₹100 crore, drawing attention to the increasing dominance of affluent candidates in civic governance.

Shiv Sena candidate Ravindra Patil, contesting from Ward No. 29 in Dombivli, has emerged as the richest candidate in the KDMC polls, declaring assets worth ₹182.56 crore. Notably, Patil had declared assets of around ₹95 crore during the 2015 civic elections, indicating that his wealth has nearly doubled over the past decade.

The second richest candidate in KDMC is Shiv Sena’s Shalini Sunil Wayle, contesting from Ward No. 2 in Kalyan West, with declared assets of ₹140.77 crore. In the previous election, her assets stood at approximately ₹105 crore, largely comprising ancestral immovable properties.

The third on the list is Saroj Rai, wife of businessman and former BJP corporator Manoj Rai, who has declared combined family assets worth ₹122 crore.

Election data further shows that over half of the KDMC candidates are crorepatis, while only a small fraction have assets below ₹1 crore, underscoring the widening economic gap among those contesting civic polls.

Navi Mumbai: Nearly Half the Candidates Are Crorepatis

In the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), the trend is equally prominent. Of the total 499 candidates, as many as 226 have declared assets exceeding ₹1 crore.

Congress candidate Santosh Shetty from Nerul tops the wealth chart in Navi Mumbai, with declared assets of ₹100 crore. Shiv Sena’s Navi Mumbai chief Kishore Patkar follows closely, with assets worth ₹93 crore, primarily from the real estate sector.

Another standout is the Gavte family from Digha, where three family members — Navin, Aparna and Deepa Gavte — are contesting the elections with a combined declared wealth of ₹306 crore, making them one of the wealthiest political families in the region.

Several other prominent crorepati candidates include BJP’s Ravindra Ithape (₹75 crore), Shiv Sena’s Namdev Bhagat (₹56 crore) and Mandakini Mhatre (₹44 crore), BJP’s Netra Shirke (₹37 crore) and Suresh Shetty (₹25 crore), along with Shiv Sena’s M.K. Madhavi (₹24 crore).

Panvel: BJP Candidates Lead the Wealth Charts

In the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) area, BJP candidates dominate the list of wealthy contenders. Iqbal Kazi declared assets worth ₹171 crore, while Madhu Patil from Kharghar reported assets exceeding ₹140 crore.

Five more BJP candidates — Chandrakant Soni, Santosh Shetty, Dashrath Mhatre, Mamta Mhatre and a candidate from Kalamboli — declared assets ranging from ₹18 crore to ₹44 crore.

Among other parties, Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) candidates Arvind Mhatre and Dilip Kadam declared assets worth ₹37.88 crore and ₹10.45 crore respectively.

Money Power and Civic Politics

Political observers note that the growing presence of crorepati candidates reflects the increasing role of money power in local governance, especially in rapidly urbanising regions like MMR, where real estate, transport and infrastructure businesses play a major role.

As voters prepare to cast their ballots, the elections raise larger questions about representation, transparency, and the widening gap between elected representatives and ordinary citizens in urban civic administration.