Will the Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde combine trounce the coalition of cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray? Will the Congress’s decision to ally with Prakash Ambedkar’s VBA for the BMC polls work out? And will Ajit Pawar’s NCP make a mark in Mumbai without its allies from the ruling Mahayuti?
All eyes are on Mumbai election results, with counting of votes for the 2026 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections now underway.
The final picture, however, is expected to emerge much later in the day.
Pollster Axis My India has predicted a clean win for the BMC-Shiv Sena alliance, but it is still too early to say which formation will take control of India’s wealthiest civic body.
LIVE UPDATES | Mumbai election results
10.32 pm: Voter turnout, over the years
Thursday’s polls recorded final voter turnout at 52.94 percent, lower than what was seen in the 2015 BMC election.
10.00 am: Counting begins
The counting process has kicked off and will be completed in multiple phases for all 227 electoral wards of the BMC.
9.15 am: Poll results for 29 civic bodies awaited
Counting of votes set to take place across 28 municipal corporations alongside Mumbai. Visuals from a counting centre in Pune:
#WATCH | Visuals from outside the counting station for wards number 25, 27, 28 at DES Primary School in Pune for Maharashtra local body polls. Vote counting will begin at 10 am across 29 municipal corporations. pic.twitter.com/YZ1S0H9yda
— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2026
9.00 am: Preparations underway
Counting of votes is set to begin in an hour, for which 23 designated centres have been set up across Mumbai. Visuals from outside a centre:
VIDEO | BMC Polls 2026: The counting of votes for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will start at 10 am. Visuals from counting centre set up at Wilson College. #BMCElection2026 #BMC2026 #MumbaiNews
(Full video available on PTI Videos -… pic.twitter.com/rIaNFPxHhs
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 16, 2026
8.30 am: Counting to begin at 10 am
According to a press statement issued Thursday by BMC, the counting of votes will not be held simultaneously across all 227 electoral wards as was done in 2017. Instead, votes from only two wards will be counted at a time. This could mean that unlike in the past, early trends for BMC results may not be available within a few hours once counting begins.
The BJP has fielded candidates in 136 wards and its ally Shiv Sena in 90; their Mahayuti ally NCP is contesting 94 wards separately.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), on the other hand, has fielded 164 candidates and its allies MNS 52 and NCP (SP) 12.
The Congress is contesting 150 wards and its ally VBA 50.