BJP sweeps Maha MC polls, ends 25-yr rule of Thackerays in Mumbai

Dominating 25 of the state's 29 municipal corporations in the elections held on Thursday, the BJP-led Mahayuti crossed the halfway mark in the BMC, ending a near 25-year control of the Thackeray cousins.

Even in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad where Ajit Pawar's NCP (part of Mahayuti in the state government) and Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP (part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc nationally) contested together, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine emerged victorious.

As Maharashtra's urban landscape came under a saffron spell, trouncing the identity politics narrative of Shiv Sena UBT's Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray of the MNS, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the vote as an endorsement of development politics.

“Thank you Maharashtra! The dynamic people of the state bless the NDA’s agenda of pro-people good governance! The results of various municipal corporation elections indicate that the NDA’s bond with the people of Maharashtra has further deepened. 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," said Modi.

In Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was the chief BJP campaigner for the MC polls, said the Mahayuti alliance was set to come to power in 25 of the 29 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, where elections were held on January 15. “We will have our mayors in 25 MCs," said Fadnavis, who termed the wins as "Maha Vijay (grand victories)”.

The most significant takeaway from the Maharashtra MC polls was BJP's emergence in the BMC.

Mahayuti crossed the halfway 114-seat majority mark in the 227-member BMC on Friday evening with leads consolidating through later hours. The BMC is India's richest civic body. Its 2025-26 budget is Rs 74,427 crore.

The fall of Thackerays and their "Marathi asmita" pitch was another story surfacing from Maharashtra where the BJP had fielded former Tamil Nadu unit chief K Annamalai to campaign.

Today's BMC results humbled Raj Thackeray, who had mocked Annamalai as "Rasmalai" after the latter said that Mumbai was an international city and did not belong to anyone.

Outside Mumbai, the BJP retained dominance of Nagpur MC and was headed to cross its previous best 2017 tally of 108 seats in the 151-member civic body.

For the larger opposition, the results presented a mixed bag. Uddhav's Shiv Sena UBT posted decent performances in central Mumbai and parts of Konkan while the Congress and the NCP-SP were confined to wins in Latur and Kolhapur.

The elections were held amid opposition concerns over indelible ink and alleged EVM irregularities, but the Maharashtra State Election Commission dismissed these fears.

The elections for Maharashtra's 29 municipal corporations witnessed a 53 per cent turnout, which the state poll body described as a record.

The elections were held for the MCs of Mumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Kolhapur, Nagpur, Nanded-Waghala, Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Latur, Malegaon, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Dhule, Jalna, Ichalkaranji, Solapur, Amravati, Akola, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Ulhasnagar, Thane, Chandrapur, Parbhani and Mira-Bhayandar.

Owaisi Makes Gains

Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) made major gains in Muslim-dominated wards of Maharashtra. AIMIM's ex-MP Imtiaz Jaleel said the party would win in 100 seats across the state.

The AIMIM registered a strong presence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dhule, Amravati, Jalna, Malegaon, Parbhani and bagged some seats in Mumbai.