Voting got underway early Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, with all eyes firmly on Mumbai as rival political blocs battle for control of the country’s richest civic body. Polling began at 7.30 am under tight security and will continue till 5.30 pm, covering 2,869 seats across 893 wards.
A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots, deciding the political fate of 15,931 candidates in what is being seen as a crucial grassroots test ahead of the next round of state and national elections.
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Mumbai’s High-Stakes BMC Battle
The spotlight is on Mumbai, where elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are being held after a nine-year gap. The polls were delayed by nearly four years due to legal and administrative reasons, making this contest unusually significant.
With an annual budget of over Rs 74,400 crore, the BMC is not just India’s richest civic body but also one of its most politically influential. Around 1,700 candidates are in the fray for 227 seats. To ensure smooth voting, more than 25,000 police personnel have been deployed across the city.
First BMC Poll Since Shiv Sena Split
This is the first civic election in Mumbai since the 2022 split in Shiv Sena, when Eknath Shinde broke away with a majority of MLAs and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the state government.
For context, Shiv Sena had controlled the BMC continuously for 25 years, from 1997 to 2022. This election, therefore, is being seen as a direct verdict on the post-split political realignment in Maharashtra.
Thackeray Cousins Reunite, Congress Goes Solo
Adding another layer of intrigue, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray reunited last month after nearly two decades. Their coming together is aimed at consolidating Marathi votes, especially in Mumbai’s traditional Sena strongholds.
The Congress, meanwhile, is trying to reassert its relevance in the city by contesting independently of its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies. In Mumbai, it has tied up with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh, signalling a more aggressive urban strategy.
Statewide Polling After Long Delay
These civic elections come after a prolonged gap, with the terms of most municipal corporations ending between 2020 and 2023. Nine of the 29 corporations are located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India’s most urbanised and economically critical belt.
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Polling is underway in 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.
What Happens Next
Counting of votes is scheduled for January 16. Results from Mumbai and other key urban centres are expected to offer clear signals on shifting voter preferences, alliance strengths, and the ground-level impact of recent political realignments in Maharashtra.
