BJP–Shiv Sena surge sweeps Maharashtra civic polls, crosses 900-seat mark

The BJP and its ally Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) powered ahead in the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections on January 16, establishing a commanding lead across the state as counting progressed.

Early trends from 29 civic bodies showed the BJP–Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti coalition surging past the 900-seat mark, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) lagged far behind with leads in just 118 seats.

The results underscore a fractured opposition landscape, with alliance partners often pitted against one another. Notably, factions of the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar fielded candidates against BJP and Shiv Sena nominees, diluting consolidated opposition strength.

BMC in focus as Mahayuti crosses halfway mark

All eyes remained on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India’s richest civic body, where 1,729 candidates contested 227 seats in the first civic elections since 2017. By midday, trends indicated that the BJP and Shiv Sena together had crossed the halfway mark, triggering celebrations at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Mumbai.

As of 12.50 pm, early trends in Mumbai showed the BJP leading on 23 seats, Shiv Sena (Shinde) on 10, Sena (UBT) on 17, Congress on 6, AIMIM on 3, and one seat each for the SP, MNS and NCP.

In a key win, BJP’s Hetal Gala Marvekar clinched Mulund Ward 103 with 17,334 votes, defeating MNS’s Deepti Panchal and Congress’s Manisha Sonawane by a decisive margin of 12,129 votes.

Strong leads across key cities

Beyond Mumbai, the BJP maintained a strong grip across major urban centres. In Nashik’s 122-seat civic body, the party led on 22 seats, followed by Shiv Sena on 11, Congress on 4, NCP on 3, Sena (UBT) on 3, MNS on 2, and others on 4. NCP (SP) failed to open its account in early trends.

In Jalgaon, the BJP dominated the 75-seat corporation, leading on 42 seats, while Shiv Sena followed with 22. Other parties, including Congress and Sena (UBT), failed to register early leads.

Meanwhile, in Sant Tukaram Nagar ward, former mayor Yogesh Behl and Manisha Lande of the NCP were locked in tight contests, each leading by a slender margin of just 60 votes.

Moderate turnout, peaceful polling

Polling across all 29 municipal corporations, including Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, concluded peacefully under tight security. Voter turnout across the state stood between 46 and 50% by 3.30 pm, according to State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare. Kolhapur recorded the highest turnout at 50.85%, while Mumbai saw 41.08%, Pune 36.95%, Nagpur 41.23%, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 43.67%, and Nashik 39.64%.

With results set to be declared later today, the early trends point to a decisive urban mandate in favour of the BJP–Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti, reshaping Maharashtra’s civic political map after nearly a decade.