Mandi's Abhishek Awasthi Takes Oath as Greater Bendigo's First Indian-Origin Mayor for 2026-27 Term

History arrived in regional Victoria on a Monday morning. Abhishek Awasthi, a 43-year-old bioinformatics specialist raised in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, stepped onto the stage at The Capital Theatre on November 9, 2026, to take his mayoral oath. The moment cemented a quiet transformation. Awasthi is now the first person of Indian origin to hold the mayoral gavel in Greater Bendigo.

Held before family, civic leaders, and municipal officials, the swearing-in hands Awasthi the top post for the 2026-27 term—a one-year mandate guiding local governance across central Victoria. His father, Surender Pal, a retired Bhakra Beas Management Board employee, sat in the auditorium alongside Awasthi's mother, Champa Sharma, having traveled from their family home in Lower Samkhetar to watch their son assume office.

From Mandi Student to Victorian Public Service

Awasthi landed in Australia in 2008 on an international student visa. He had no safety net. Like thousands of young migrants arriving in Melbourne, he juggled odd part-time shifts alongside grueling academic deadlines. By 2010, he relocated inland to Bendigo, enrolling at La Trobe University. He first studied biotechnology before earning a master’s degree in bioinformatics.

Private industry did not hold him for long. Awasthi soon shifted toward public administration, securing roles across the Victorian state government where he spent over a decade working inside bureaucratic machinery. In 2015, he formally acquired Australian citizenship. He planted deep roots in Greater Bendigo, building a life with his wife, Anima, and their daughter, Agni.

But administrative desk work did not satisfy his civic appetite. In 2021, Awasthi spearheaded the formal establishment of the Indian Association of Bendigo. The group gathered dispersed diaspora families across regional Victoria, organizing cultural programs, community safety nets, and local volunteer drives.

Rapid Rise Across Kennington Ward

Electoral politics beckoned in late 2024. Greater Bendigo divides into nine wards, and Awasthi launched a ground campaign in Kennington Ward during the November 2024 council elections. He won.

Himachal-born and foreign-educated, he wasted zero time inside the municipal chambers. Fellow councillors quickly selected him as Deputy Mayor for the 2024-25 term, pairing him with then-Mayor Andrea Metcalf. The working partnership gave him hands-on command over council budgets, zoning disputes, and local infrastructure portfolios.

Two years later, the council chamber did not hesitate. When the mayoral selection opened for the 2026-27 session, council peers backed Awasthi without a single dissenting voice. The selection was unanimous.

Awasthi addressed the assembly immediately after donning the mayoral chains, specifically pointing to the flood of congratulatory messages arriving from India and his hometown of Mandi. He credited his parents, sitting in the front rows, for grounding his ambition in quiet public service.

Awasthi's mayoral term runs through late 2027, during which he will oversee Greater Bendigo's municipal spending priorities, regional community projects, and infrastructure investments.