Mumbai | Jan 16, 2026

Early trends from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections indicate a closely fought battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena (UBT). As of 10:20 am on Friday, the BJP was leading in 16 wards, while Shiv Sena (UBT) held leads in 11 wards. The remaining seats were either too close to call or awaited updates as counting progressed.

The BMC polls, held for all 227 seats across the city, are seen as a key indicator of urban political sentiment in Maharashtra. A party or alliance needs 114 seats to secure a majority and control India’s richest municipal body.

The electoral contest is largely framed around two rival blocs. The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, faces off against the opposition alliance of Shiv Sena (UBT), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP. The Congress, contesting separately, is allied with parties such as the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP).

Analysts note that 68 wards, largely in Mumbai’s Marathi-dominated pockets, are expected to be decisive in determining which Shiv Sena faction—Uddhav Thackeray’s UBT or the Shinde-led faction—claims the party’s legacy. In the 2019 BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had emerged as the largest party with 84 seats, closely followed by the BJP with 82 seats.

Ahead of counting, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed confidence in the ruling alliance’s prospects, stating that the Mahayuti was likely to win major urban corporations including Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Nashik by comfortable margins. Downplaying the joint contests between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar in a few local bodies, he described them as “local phenomena” that did not affect the broader alliance dynamics.

Meanwhile, former rivals Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands after ending their long-standing political feud last June. In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ajit Pawar contested alongside Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, despite being part of the Mahayuti alliance at the state level.

Counting in Mumbai began at 10 am across 23 designated centers, with the process conducted in phases to ensure orderly management, according to Municipal Commissioner and District Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani.

As the vote tally progresses, political observers are closely watching trends across the city, with the BMC results seen as a litmus test for the future influence of both Shiv Sena factions in urban Maharashtra.