Municipal Polls in Maharashtra Underway; Mahayuti, Thackerays Locked in Battle

Voting commenced on Thursday morning across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, setting the stage for a high-stakes urban contest, with Mumbai at the centre of political attention. The battle for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has drawn sharp focus, as the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance faces a challenge from the reunited Thackeray cousins.

Polling began at 7.30 a.m. under heightened security arrangements and will continue until 5.30 p.m. A total of 2,869 seats across 893 wards are being contested by 15,931 candidates. More than 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots in these crucial civic elections. Vote counting is scheduled for January 16.

Except for Mumbai, most municipal corporations in the state are holding elections in multi-member wards.

The elections mark the first civic test since the political realignment of 2022, when Eknath Shinde split the Shiv Sena and later formed a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Now serving as Deputy Chief Minister, Shinde’s faction, alongside the BJP, is seeking to consolidate its urban base through these polls.

In Mumbai, the contest for the country’s richest municipal body carries both political and administrative weight. With an annual budget exceeding Rs 74,400 crore, the BMC remains a prized institution. A total of 1,700 candidates are in the fray for 227 seats, making it one of the most closely watched civic elections in the state. The polls are being held after a nine-year gap, following a four-year delay beyond the scheduled term.

Security has been significantly tightened in the financial capital, with more than 25,000 police personnel deployed across the city to ensure peaceful voting.

Among the 3.48 crore voters statewide, 1.81 crore are men, 1.66 crore are women, and 4,596 are registered under other categories. Of the 39,092 polling stations set up across Maharashtra, 3,196 have been identified as sensitive. Voting is being conducted using electronic voting machines. For Mumbai alone, authorities have deployed 11,349 control units and 22,698 ballot units.

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