BJP nears historic first-ever outright victory in Mumbai civic body polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP is on the cusp of scripting history in Mumbairsquos local politics emerging as the singlelargest party in the 227member Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC and moving steadily towards a firstever outright victory in Indiarsquos richest civic bodyEarly trends and partial results from the counting of votes on Friday indicate that the BJP has significantly improved upon its 2017 performance when it had secured 82 seats Currently the BJP is leading in 90 wards across MumbaiThe BJP is contesting the polls as part of the Mahayuti alliance along with the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena The Shinde faction has also put up a strong show leading in around 28 wards Together the Mahayuti bloc has reportedly crossed the majority mark in several trend reports with leads in over 125 wards A total of 114 seats are required to secure a clear majority in the BMCBMC Election Results 2026 LIVE Wardwise and Partywise Counting UpdatesIn contrast the opposition Shivshakti alliancemdashcomprising Shiv Sena UBT the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS and factions of the Nationalist Congress Party NCPmdashhas lagged behind Depending on the phase of counting the alliance has been leading in roughly 66 to 85 seats The Congress is ahead or has won in about 15 wards while the Ajit Pawarled NCP is confined to a handful of seats with independents and smaller parties accounting for around eight to nine wardsIf current trends translate into final results the BJPled alliance is set to install its firstever mayor in the BMC ending decades of Shiv Sena dominance over Mumbairsquos civic body Despite its growing footprint in Mumbai over the years the BJP has never previously managed to gain full control of the BMC either independently or through an allianceThe civic elections were held on January 15 after prolonged delays caused by the Covid19 pandemic delimitationrelated disputes and administrative hurdlesDevelopment focus postsplit Shiv Sena realignment tilt BMC race in BJPrsquos favourVoter turnout stood at around 5294 per cent according to State Election Commission dataThe BJPndashShiv Sena Shinde alliance campaigned under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis focusing on a developmentoriented agenda The campaign highlighted infrastructure projects slum redevelopment cleanliness initiatives and urban governance reforms undertaken by the Mahayuti governmentLocal civic issues such as potholefree roads water supply and action against encroachments featured prominently in the campaignThe ruling alliance also countered opposition attacks including allegations of being an ldquoantiMarathi establishmentrdquo raised by Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray The focus on civic delivery and governance appears to have resonated with voters across several parts of the cityUntil 2017 the undivided Shiv Sena had held sway over the BMC for decades often leading or dominating coalitions Although the BJP emerged as the single largest party in 2017 its alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena prevented a complete takeover The political landscape however changed significantly after the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena with the Eknath Shinde faction aligning with the BJP tilting the balance decisively in the saffron partyrsquos favourAs counting progressed on Thursday celebratory scenes were reported outside BJP offices in Mumbai with senior leaders including Ashish Shelar thanking voters for their support The opposition raised some concerns over the counting process in pockets but these appeared to have limited impact on the overall outcomeThe Mahayutirsquos strong performance in Mumbai mirrors its showing across other municipal corporations in Maharashtra including Pune Nagpur and Thane reinforcing the alliancersquos dominance in urban centres following the state assembly electionsThe final official results from the State Election Commission are awaited but current trends point to a landmark moment in Mumbairsquos civic politics with a BJPled administration poised to take charge of the BMC and potentially reshape the cityrsquos governance priorities in the years ahead