The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies have taken an early lead as counting progresses for municipal corporation elections across Maharashtra, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The results are being declared today after polling concluded on Thursday for 29 civic bodies across the state.
In Mumbai, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has surged ahead in a significant number of wards. Early trends show the alliance leading in 62 wards of the BMC, with the BJP itself ahead in 46 seats and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction leading in 16. In contrast, the Thackeray cousins appear to be trailing, collectively leading in 41 wards. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) is ahead in 38 wards, while Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has leads in three.
The BMC elections, held after a gap of nearly nine years, are being closely watched given the civic body’s massive annual budget of over Rs 74,400 crore. A total of 1,700 candidates contested the 227 seats. The polls were delayed by several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, disputes over ward delimitation, and legal challenges surrounding OBC reservations in local body elections.
According to the State Election Commission, voter turnout in Mumbai stood at approximately 52.9 per cent by 5:30 pm, lower than the 55.53 per cent recorded during the 2017 BMC elections. Polling across all 29 municipal corporations covered 2,869 seats in 893 wards, with 3.48 crore voters eligible to choose from 15,931 candidates.
Statewide trends also favour the BJP-led alliance. Across Maharashtra, the BJP is leading in 535 wards, while its ally Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) is ahead in 164. The Congress currently stands third with leads in 147 wards, driven largely by strong performances in cities such as Nagpur, Kolhapur, and Solapur. Shiv Sena (UBT) follows with 78 leads, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction is ahead in 70 wards.
Pune has emerged as another key battleground, particularly because the rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar joined forces for the civic polls. Despite this alliance, the BJP is leading decisively in the city with 48 seats, while the combined NCP factions are ahead in only six.
Exit polls released ahead of the counting had already indicated a clear advantage for the Mahayuti alliance. The Axis My India survey projected that the BJP and its allies could secure between 131 and 151 seats in the BMC, while the Shiv Sena (UBT)-led alliance was estimated to win 58 to 68 seats. JVC exit polls forecast 138 seats for BJP-Shiv Sena, while Saam TV predicted a slightly narrower margin.
Counting for the BMC is being conducted in phases, with two constituencies counted at a time, unlike the single-phase counting seen in 2017. Results are being announced ward by ward as counting progresses.
Several individual ward results have already been declared. Congress candidate Asha Deepak Kale secured a victory in Dharavi’s Ward 183 by a margin of 1,450 votes. BJP’s Ajay Patil won Ward 214 in the Tardeo area with 8,759 votes, while Santosh Dale emerged victorious in Ward 215. BJP’s Rohidas Lokhande defeated MNS candidate Shalaka Dilip Haryan in Ward 207, covering the Byculla area.
Shiv Sena (UBT) also registered key wins, with Nishikant Shinde winning Ward 194 and Sakina Ayub Shaikh defeating the sitting Shinde Sena corporator in Ward 124 in Vikhroli. Milind Vaidya retained Ward 182 in Mahim, while Varsha Tembwalkar of the Shinde faction secured Goregaon’s Ward 51. Congress further strengthened its tally with Ashraf Azmi winning Ward 165, while independent candidate Rekha Ram Yadav claimed victory in Ward 1.
As of noon, early trends in Mumbai showed the BJP leading in 17 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (UBT) with nine, Shiv Sena (Shinde) with five, Congress with three, AIMIM with two, and single leads for MNS, SP, NCP, and even NOTA.
The 2026 civic elections mark the first major test of Maharashtra’s reshaped political landscape following the split of the Shiv Sena in 2022 and the division of the NCP in 2023. While the BJP-led Mahayuti appears to be consolidating its position, the final outcome will determine control of some of the most influential municipal bodies in the state.
