MUMBAI: Mumbai's next mayor will be a woman from the general category, as determined by a lottery conducted by the Maharashtra Urban Development Department on Thursday, an official said.

The procedure was, however, opposed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar, who claimed that the rules to arrive at this decision were changed without informing anyone.

She said the last two mayors were from the general category, so the new mayor should have been from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) or the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

"We condemn the way the procedure (of lottery) was conducted," Pednekar said.

The lottery determines the category for which the mayor's post will be reserved, such as general, women, SC, ST, and OBC categories. Once the category is announced, eligible candidates file their nominations.

Elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and 28 other civic bodies in the state were held on January 15.