BMC election results HIGHLIGHTS: BJP wins 89 wards, Uddhav’s Sena (UBT) second largest party in BMC

HIGHLIGHTS | Mumbai election results: The outcome marked the end of the Thackeray family's three-decade dominance over Mumbai's civic body.

By
ThePrint Team
-
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis celebrates with BJP and its allies in Mumbai on 16 January 2026 | X@Dev_Fadnavis
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis celebrates with BJP and its allies in Mumbai on 16 January 2026 | X@Dev_Fadnavis

Trends for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election results indicate that the ruling Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has established a commanding position in the race to control India’s wealthiest civic body.

The high-stakes election in Mumbai, held Thursday across 227 wards, recorded a voter turnout of 52.94 percent—lower than the 2015 civic polls. With an annual budget exceeding Rs 74,000 crore, the BMC represents not just Mumbai’s civic administration but a crucial political battleground where alliance equations have been dramatically redrawn over the past few years.

The polls pitted Shinde’s faction and the BJP against Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj, who joined hands after two decades to contest on a “Marathi manoos” platform.

The Congress was contesting in alliance with Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, while Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), otherwise part of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, is running independently.

The outcome marked the end of the Thackeray family’s three-decade dominance over Mumbai’s civic administration—a seismic shift in the city’s political landscape.

HIGHLIGHTS | Mumbai election results

11.45 pm: BJP wins 89, ally Sena 29 wards

The final tally for the BMC polls shows the BJP won in 89 wards and its ally Shiv Sena in 29, while the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) managed to secure wins in 65 wards and ally MNS in 6.

7.30 pm: PM Modi thanks people of Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X thanked the people of Maharashtra for supporting the BJP in various municipal corporation elections.

“Our track record and vision for development have struck a chord. My gratitude to the people across Maharashtra. This is a vote to add momentum to progress and celebrate the glorious culture the state is associated with,” he wrote.

6 pm: Uddhav-led Sena (UBT) wrestles Dadar from BJP

Vaishali Patankar of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has defeated BJP’s Sheetal Desai in Thackeray bastion Dadar (ward 190). Desai had won the ward for BJP in 2017. Dadar is known as a Thackeray bastion.

5.45 pm: Fadnavis addresses media in Mumbai

Citing official trends, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis declared victory in the BMC polls. Addressing the media in Mumbai, he said the BJP is poised to take control of 25 of the 29 civic bodies where polling was held Thursday. The party’s performance, he said, reaffirms the trust voters in Maharashtra have in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As of 4.39 pm, official trends for the BMC polls put BJP ahead in 56 wards, and its ally Shiv Sena in 44 wards. The Sena (UBT) and ally MNS were ahead in 44 and 4 wards, respectively; while the Congress was ahead in 16 wards.

4.35pm: Reports say EVM malfunctions withhold results in ward

According to TV channels, the State Election Commission has decided to withhold results from Ward 189 after two EVMs did not display voting figures. There’s no official word on the development so far.

4pm: Latest trends

At about 3 pm Friday, the BJP was leading in about 90 seats while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena was leading in 28.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena was ahead in 55 seats while its ally, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, was leading in nine. The parties had also tied up with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, which did not manage to secure any lead.

The Congress is ahead in just 15 of the 143 seats where it fielded candidates.

Graphic: Sonali Dub | ThePrint
Graphic: Sonali Dub | ThePrint

3.50 pm: Fadnavis congratulates Mumbai BJP president

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday called up Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam to congratulate him on BJP-Shiv Sena’s imminent victory.

The Maharashtra CM, in a post on X, also credited the party’s performance to PM Modi and other senior leaders, saying that the BJP has made “history” once again.

“Under the visionary leadership of Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji, along with… BJP has achieved a momentous victory in the state once again!…” he wrote.

 

3.40 pm: BJP-Shiv Sena lead in 210 seats

The BJP and its ally, the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Singh, were ahead in 210 out of 227 wards in Mumbai, according to trends quoted by news agency PTI.

2.35 pm: If trends hold, Thackeray reign set to end, NCP barely makes a dent

Reports say the Mahayuti alliance leads in over 110 wards of Mumbai, on route to end Shiv Sena’s three-decade rule of BMC.

The now-divided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray is leading in around 68 seats, MNS in nine, and NCP in one. Congress has leads in 10 wards.

2.30 pm: BJP dominance across civic bodies

TV channels say BJP is leading in most of the 29 civic bodies that went to the polls Thursday. These include BMC, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Pune-Chinchwad, Panvel, Kalyan-Dombiwali.

2.20 pm: BJP hails ‘great victory’

Addressing a press conference, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said people have witnessed that BJP and its allies have “registered a great victory in BMC polls”.

“This shows that BJP and NDA’s acceptance is ever increasing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Recently, we won majority for the first time in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala Municipal Corporation polls. Today, BJP-NDA-Mahayuti have got unprecedented victory in BMC elections, which is arguably Asia’s biggest municipal corporation. The BJP is thankful to the people of Maharashtra for this victory.” he said.

BJP General Secretary Tarun Chugh said it was a “day of celebration” as people of Maharashtra had blessed PM Modi’s policies, his nationalism and commitment to a developed India.

Chugh hit out at Congress’s Rahul Gandhi for “playing his old tune”.

“Before the result was announced, Rahul Gandhi, like the Crown Prince of the Gandhi-Nehru family, began playing his old tune in a new way. Sometimes the EVM is wrong, sometimes the elections are wrong, sometimes the voter list is wrong, and now, the ink is wrong,” he said.

2 pm: AIMIM leaders says her win is victory of the people

AIMIM’s Khairunisa Akbar Husain, who won from ward 145, said her victory is that of the people, and not hers along. “We will work on all the issues that we had raised,” she told PTI.

1.50 pm: BJP leaders confident of wins

State Minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelar told news agency PTI he was going to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “People across Maharashtra have voted with enthusiasm,” he said.

Separately, Minister Chandrakant Patil said the Mahauyti alliance is leading in civic polls across the state. “Out of 29 (civic polls), there will be Mahayuti in at least 28. Most of these will be of the BJP,” he said.

BJP leaders have also started celebrations at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

1.45 pm: ‘Thackerays did good work’

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Shinde, whose brother Nishikant Shinde won a ward, thanks the Thackerays for their “good work”.

“We are all nationalists and we did good work, due to which the public supported us… I thank Uddhav, Raj and Aaditya Thackeray. We will try to provide good service to the people,” Sunil Shinde said.

1.30 pm: Mahayuti crosses majority mark, says report

The Mahayuti alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena crossed the majority mark, according to reports. BJP leads in 89 wards, and Shiv Sena in 29.

The majority mark for BMC elections is 114.

1.20 pm: Another result declared

Former MLA Yamini Jadhav of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena wins BMC ward 209 after defeating Congress’s candidate, reports ANI.

1 pm: BJP hits back at Rahul over ‘vote chori’ allegation

Within hours of Rahul Gandhi’s tweet on “vote chori”, BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan call the Leader of Opposition’s remarks a “failed toolkit of despair and desperation”.

BJP MP Anurag Thakur weighed in on the controversy and said the Congress starts “crying” the minute it becomes obvious that the BJP and its alliance was winning civic polls in Maharashtra. “One defeat, then another. The Congress party has already lost 96 elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, and in 2026, it will complete a century of defeats under his leadership,” Thakur said.

 

12.55 pm: Mahayuti ‘leads in 102 wards’ 

TV channels are reporting that the Mahayuti alliance in ahead in 102 BMC wards out of a total of 227.

News agency ANI reports that AIMIM’s Mehzabin Khan has won from ward 134, marking the party’s first win in BMC.

12.35 pm: BJP leads in 23 seats

According to trends by ANI, the BJP is ahead in 23 wards, followed by Shiv Sena (UBT) in 14.

On the third place is Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, with leads in five seats, and Congress, in four. AIMIM is ahead in two seats, and MNS and NCP in one each.

Graphic: Sonali Dub | ThePrint

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC, asserting confidence over Mahayuti’s victory, said the Thackeray brothers’ “future was to work from home”.

“Udhhav Thackeray should change his script writer and find some other excuse… The verdict of loss and win is decided by the public. The message is that the opportunity belongs to those who work on the ground, and those who work from home are made to stay at home,” she added.

12.30 pm: Mumbai mayor will be from Mahayuti alliance, says Union Minister

On BMC polls, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said Friday that Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was in power in Mumbai for decades. “Today, the BJP is the number one party… Uddhav Thackeray has now formed an alliance with Raj Thackeray, which seems to be giving him some advantage in certain Marathi-speaking areas, but most of the seats are going to the Mahayuti alliance. The mayor of Mumbai will be from the Mahayuti alliance, and will be a Marathi speaker.”

12.15 pm: Congress’s Kale credits senior party leaders for win

Congress candidate Asha Deepak Kale, who won from a Dharavi ward (183), credited her victory to MP Varsha Gaikwad and MLA Jyoti Gaikwad. “With their blessings, we have won this seat. This is the victory of our party workers,” she said.

Separately, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Nishikant Shinde–brother of MLC Sunil Shinde–has defeated Shiv Sena’s Samadhan Sarvankar from ward 194.

11.40 am: Official trends in leads come in

BJP: 17
Shiv Sena (UBT): 9
Shiv Sena: 5
Congress: 3
MNS: 1
AIMIM: 2
NCP: 1

Union Minister & BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol said it was “clear” that BJP was winning the civic elections with a full mandate. “We contest elections for serving people. Whenever the public has given us the opportunity to work, we have always delivered,” he said.

According to a report, six winners have been declared in Mumbai–three of Shiv Sena, two of BJP and one of Congress.

11.30 am: Skirmish in Aurangabad

In Aurangabad, where civic polls were held along with other Maharashtra cities, state Minister Sanjay Shirsat said workers were “lathi-charged” by police near a counting centre.

“Action should be taken against this. Police should show their force on criminals, instead of workers… This is a misuse of power,” Shirsat said.

Police admitted an incident took place. “The DCP will investigate the matter, taking into account the stands of both the police and Shiv Sena leaders, and then action will be taken. Everything will be investigated,” police said.

11.20 am: EC ‘gaslighting’ citizens, says Rahul

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Friday attacked the Election Commission over the controversy involving allegations of “indelible ink”. Sharing a media report, Rahul said on X “vote chori is an anti-national act”.

“Election Commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy,” the tweet read.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) Thursday ordered a probe into complaints of erasable ink being used during the civic polls and warned of action against those “creating confusion” after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray flagged the issue.

Also Read: ‘Why marker pens in BMC polls?’ Voters, opposition complain ‘indelible’ ink getting erased, CM responds

11.05 am: Mahayuti ahead in early leads

Though official data is yet to be released, news agency ANI reports that the BJP-Shiv Sena Mahayuti alliance is leading in 52 BMC wards, according to early trends that only involve counting of postal ballots.

In the breakdown, BJP is ahead in 35 wards and Eknath Shinde-led Sena in 15.

11.00 am: ‘Exit polls came before voter turnout’

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut told news agency ANI that the names of thousands of voters has been missing and EVMs “don’t work properly”.

“The Election Commission is not ready to listen to us… Exit polls arrived even before the voting percentage… The BJP started celebrating its victory… We have assured the people not to be afraid,” he said.

10.32 am: 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.

BMC 2026 election voter turnout
Graphic: Sonali Dub | ThePrint

Also for reference, voter turnout in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections:

Graphic: Sonali Dub | ThePrint

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:

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:

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.

Also Read: ‘Why marker pens in BMC polls?’ Voters, opposition complain ‘indelible’ ink getting erased, CM responds