The long-awaited municipal elections in the state have finally been announced. The State Election Commission has declared the schedule for elections in all 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra, including the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC Election 2026). With this announcement, the model code of conduct has come into effect across the state from today.

State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare provided detailed information about the election schedule during a press conference held at the Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai. He stated that voting in all 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai and Pune, will be held on January 15, 2026, while counting of votes will take place on January 16, 2026.

Mumbai BMC Election 2026: Voter List and Poll Preparations

The State Election Commission clarified that the voter list as of July 1, 2025, will be used for the elections. Approximately 11 lakh potential duplicate voters have been identified in BMC, and two stars will be marked next to their names for easy identification.

Mumbai will have 10,111 polling stations, while the state will have over 49,000 polling centers in total. The total number of voters in Maharashtra is estimated at around 3 crore. For voter convenience, the commission has also launched the Matadhikar app.

Key Dates for BMC Elections

• Nomination process begins: December 23

• Last date for filing nominations: December 30

• Scrutiny of nominations: December 31

• Last date to withdraw nominations: January 2

• Election symbol allotment: January 3

• Voting: January 15

• Counting: January 16

Election Campaign and Model Code of Conduct

The election campaigning period will run from January 3 to January 13, after which campaigning will be completely prohibited 48 hours before polling. The model code of conduct, effective from today, also restricts government announcements, transfers, and implementation of new schemes.

Municipal Structure and Voting Process

Out of the 29 municipal corporations, 27 have completed their term, while Jalna and Ichalkaranji are new corporations, where elections will be held for the first time.

Mumbai Municipal Corporation will follow a single-member ward system, while the other 28 corporations will use a multi-member ward system. Voters in these corporations will cast 3, 4, or 5 votes depending on the structure.

Overall, the announcement has intensified political activity across Maharashtra, and the election atmosphere is expected to heat up further in the coming days.