The BJP shattered records in Maharashtra's local elections, defeating the Thackeray brothers in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and dismantling the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar-led NCP factions' alliance in the Pune municipality.
Results for all 227 wards in Mumbai were declared around midnight. BJP won 89 seats, and its ally Shiv Sena secured 29 seats, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) obtained 65 and MNS secured six seats. Congress, in alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, won 24 seats, AIMIM grabbed 8, NCP claimed 3, and the Samajwadi Party managed 2, while NCP (SP) received just one seat.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis addressed jubilant party workers in South Mumbai, declaring that the BJP-led MahaYuti alliance is set to govern 25 of the 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, which held elections on January 15.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked voters for the remarkable victory of BJP and its allies in the municipal elections.
In the elections held on January 15 across Mumbai and 28 other corporations, vote counting commenced Friday morning and extended into the late night.
Some Results Still Awaited
Results for 2,833 of the 2,868 seats across 29 municipal corporations have been announced. By midnight, there was no official statement from the SEC regarding the remaining 35 seats.
The BJP conquered 1,400 seats, with its ally Shiv Sena taking 397 seats, while Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS claimed 153 and 13 seats in the state, respectively. Congress won 324 seats.
The BJP-led alliance crossed the majority mark of 114 seats in the 227-member BMC by winning 118 seats. The BMC, India's wealthiest civic body, has a budget of ₹74,427 crores for 2025-26, indicating a likely BJP Mayor.
Source: aajtak
In Thane, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s home turf, his Shiv Sena secured a victory for the MahaYuti, winning 75 out of 131 seats while BJP claimed 28 seats.
The state election commission reported a voter turnout of 54.77% across the 29 municipal corporations.
This much-discussed BMC election saw the Thackeray family cousins reunite after two decades, yet the announced results dashed their hopes.
In Pune and neighboring Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections, BJP surged ahead of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and NCP (SP) alliances, heading for a significant victory.
This outcome marks a pivotal transition in Mumbai's power structure. For years, the BMC was considered an impenetrable fortress for Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
Journalist Gauri Lankesh’s accused killer, Srikant Pangarkar, was elected as an independent councilor in Jalna Corporation.
Nagpur Election Outcomes
In Nagpur, the home ground for Chief Minister Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, the results indicated that despite an aggressive campaign, Congress struggled to gain significant ground.
Results for all 151 seats of Nagpur municipal corporation have been declared. BJP secured 102 seats while Congress received 34.
Latur Election Outcomes
Congress, allied with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, won the Latur Corporation elections, obtaining a clear majority with 43 out of a 70-member council, while BJP lagged behind with 22 seats.
Major Setback for Ajit and Sharad Pawar
A political turning point occurred when Uddhav and Raj Thackeray reunited last month, and rival NCP factions, led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar of NCP and Sharad Pawar of NCP (SP), formed a local alliance in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
In Pune, BJP won 96 seats, while NCP took 20, and NCP (SP) managed to secure only three seats.
In Pimpri-Chinchwad, BJP grabbed 84 seats, outstripping the NCP, which secured only 37 seats. NCP (SP) failed to win any seats there.
Congress Loses Ground, AIMIM Gains Momentum
Congress's dominance in urban areas visibly collapsed, hitting a new low in BMC elections, where it won under 10% of the seats.
Conversely, Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) emerged victorious in the municipal polls, making notable gains in Muslim-majority wards across the state.
Former MP Imtiaz Jaleel of AIMIM indicated that the party is poised to win over 100 seats statewide, gaining significant support in Mumbai, in addition to strongholds like Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dhule, Amravati, Jalna, Malegaon, and Parbhani.
Among the 29 municipal corporations holding the long-awaited elections were 19 independent candidates triumphant, most of whom completed terms between 2020 and 2023. Nine municipalities are part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), India's most urbanized area.
The municipalities with elections include Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna, and Ichalkaranji.
