BJP, Sena Lead BMC Polls, Thackerays Poised to Lose Control
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, are poised for a decisive victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. This shift marks a significant moment as the Thackeray family seems to be losing control of Mumbai’s civic administration for the first time in 25 years. While votes are still being tallied across 29 municipal bodies in Maharashtra, the trends indicate a strong leaning toward the BJP.
BMC Election Results Overview
The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance currently leads in 117 wards within the BMC. The BJP individually has a lead in 88 wards, while Eknath Shinde’s faction of the Shiv Sena is ahead in 29 wards. This is notable, as the majority mark stands at 114, suggesting a likely transition in power.
- The Thackerays, led by Uddhav Thackeray, are struggling, leading in only 70 wards.
- Uddhav’s Shiv Sena is ahead in 64 wards, and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leads in 6 wards.
Details of Municipal Elections
The elections were conducted for a total of 227 seats in the BMC, with an impressive annual budget exceeding Rs 74,400 crore. In total, 1,700 candidates contested the elections after a four-year delay, the previous polls occurring in 2017.
- In the 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, the BJP leads in 1,427 wards.
- Shiv Sena, under Shinde, is currently leading in 403 wards.
- The Congress party stands in third place, leading in 317 seats, notably from regions such as Bhinwadi Nizampur, Nagpur, and Kolhapur.
Pune Municipal Elections
Pune’s local elections also gained attention due to a rivalry within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The BJP is leading with victories in 123 of the 165 seats in Pune, while the united NCP factions are trailing with a lead in 24 seats.
Voting Statistics
The polls, which spanned 2,869 seats across 893 wards, were conducted with a notable voter turnout of 52.94%. This turnout reflects the electoral engagement of 15,931 candidates, among whom 1,700 contested in Mumbai.
List of Municipal Corporations with Ongoing Votes
The counting of votes is also ongoing in several other municipal corporations, including:
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
- Navi Mumbai
- Vasai-Virar
- Kalyan-Dombivli
- Kolhapur
- Nagpur
- Solapur
- Akola
- Nashik
- Pimpri-Chinchwad
- Ulhasnagar
- Thane
- Chandrapur
- Parbhani
- Mira-Bhayandar
- Nanded-Waghala
- Panvel
- Bhiwandi-Nizampur
- Latur
- Malegaon
- Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad
- Jalgaon
- Ahilyanagar
- Dhule
- Jalna
- Ichalkaranji
The results indicate a transformative period in Mumbai’s governance, as the BJP and allied parties appear set to redefine the political landscape in the region.
