Mumbai | Jan 16, 2026

The results of the 2026 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections—Asia’s richest civic body—are set to be declared on Friday, January 16, alongside outcomes from 28 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra. Voting for the BMC and these civic bodies took place on Thursday, concluding a high-stakes battle that has kept the political landscape of Maharashtra on edge.

The BMC polls are particularly significant for Mumbai, India’s financial capital, as the civic body governs key urban services, infrastructure, and development projects. The elections were delayed by three years, making this contest even more closely watched. The political environment has shifted dramatically since the last polls, with splits in major partiessuch as Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP and breakaway factions of Sena and NCP, retaining power in the 2024 state assembly elections.

Exit Poll Predictions

The BMC elections were held for 227 seats, with 114 seats required for a majority. Several exit polls have attempted to project the outcome amid the complex multi-party battle.

Axis My India predicts a strong showing for the BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) alliance, estimating 131-151 seats for the pair. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance is projected to win 58-68 seats, while the Congress-led alliance, including the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP), may secure 12-16 seats, with others winning 6-12 seats.

Vote-share projections by Axis My India suggest 42% for the Mahayuti alliance (BJP 28%, Shiv Sena 14%), 24% for Shiv Sena (UBT), 7% for MNS, and 1% for NCP (SP).

DV Research offered similar forecasts, predicting 107-122 seats for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, 68-83 seats for the Thackeray brothers’ UBT faction and allies, 18-25 seats for the Congress-led bloc, and 8-15 seats for others.

Janmat exit polls projected the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance would capture 138 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS-NCP (SP) alliance 62 seats, the Congress-led alliance 20 seats, and others 7 seats, with a margin of error of ±5 seats.

Meanwhile, Saam TV predicted 84 seats for the BJP, 35 for its Shinde faction ally, 65 for Shiv Sena (UBT), 10 for MNS, and 2 for NCP (SP). The Congress-led alliance was projected to win 23 seats, NCP 3, and others 5 seats.

Historical Context

The last BMC election, held in 2017, had seen the undivided Shiv Sena emerge as the single largest party with 84 seats, narrowly ahead of the BJP’s 82 seats. These elections mark the first contest after the 2022 Shiv Sena split, which has added layers of complexity to the city’s electoral dynamics, with factions led by Uddhav Thackeray (UBT) and Eknath Shinde vying to assert control over their political legacies.

As counting begins today, political analysts and voters alike are keeping a close watch on Mumbai’s wards, particularly 68 Marathi-majority pockets, which are expected to be decisive in shaping which Shiv Sena faction exerts dominance in the city. With several alliances and high-profile political figures at stake, the BMC 2026 results are set to define the next chapter of Mumbai’s civic governance.

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