Mumbai, 16 Jan

The Maharashtra civic elections 2026, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls, delivered a strong mandate in favour of the BJP-led Mahayuti, marking a decisive shift in the state’s urban political landscape.

Across 27 civic bodies and 2,869 wards, the alliance emerged firmly ahead, capturing key municipal corporations and consolidating its dominance.

The BJP won the Navi Mumbai and Jalgaon municipal corporations, while the Congress emerged as the single largest party in Bhiwandi and Kolhapur as results of 11 out of 29 civic bodies were declared. Smaller parties made selective gains, even as traditional regional forces struggled to counter the BJP’s governance-centric campaign.

The most striking outcome was the BJP’s performance in Mumbai. In the 227-member BMC, India’s richest civic body, the BJP won 86seats, improving on its tally of 82 in 2017. Along with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP moved decisively towards wresting control of the BMC from the Thackeray family after nearly 25 years.

The combined challenge mounted by Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, who allied after almost two decades, failed to stem the BJP’s rise.

The results marked the weakest showing in over 20 years for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), raising questions about the future of the “Thackeray brand”, particularly that of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

Analysts attributed the BJP-led Mahayuti’s success to a fragmented opposition, multi-cornered contests and direct fights between rival Shiv Sena factions that split the traditional Marathi vote. BJP also posted strong performances in other cities, leading in Pune and Nagpur municipal corporations, Navi Mumbai (42 of 67) and Thane, reinforcing its “triple-engine” governance narrative.

Meanwhile, the AIMIM recorded its strongest-ever civicshowing in Maharashtra, winning 95 seats across 13 municipal bodies, posing a challenge to the Samajwadi Party and Congress’s minority vote base.