BMC polls: 50-50 seats for Sena (UBT), MNS in Mumbai strongholds, 60-40 in others, say party leaders

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are likely to equally divide seats in their strongholds for civic polls in Mumbai and adopt a 60:40 formula for the rest of the metropolis, sources said.

As an alliance between the Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray and the MNS headed by his cousin Raj Thackeray is now a mere formality, leaders from both parties have been told to draw up lists of such seats, they said.

According to the sources, the formal alliance between Sena (UBT) and MNS could be declared around Diwali, when the first phase of the municipal elections will likely be held.

In the rest of the state, both parties will take a decision on the basis of each other’s strength, they added. The Sena (UBT) and MNS have influence in Thane, Nashik and the Kalyan-Dombivli region.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court pulled up the Maharashtra State Election Commission for non-compliance with its order and directed that the state local body polls, stalled since 2022, be completed by January 31, 2026.

With a budget of over 74,000 crore for 2025-26, the contest for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), considered the richest civic body in the country, is likely to be the most intense since last year’s Maharashtra assembly elections. Mumbai has 227 civic wards.

“The bone of contention is likely to be in areas where both Sena (UBT) and the MNS hold sway. So the seats in strongholds like Dadar-Mahim, Lalbaug-Parel-Sewree, Vikhroli, Dindoshi, Ghatkopar West, Dahisar, and Bhandup are likely to be divided equally. These are the areas where both areas have influence,” an MNS leader said.

The Sena (UBT) and the MNS have almost the same area of influence in several Marathi-speaking areas in Mumbai.

“In the rest of the city, the ratio is likely to be 60:40, with 60 per cent of the seats going to the Sena (UBT) and the rest to us,” the MNS leader said.

Even under this arrangement, seats in Muslim-dominated areas are likely to be contested by Sena (UBT), the leader said.

For instance, the Mahim assembly segment has two Muslim-dominated wards, and they will likely go to Uddhav’s party. A similar arrangement will apply in other Muslim-dominated areas, including Byculla and parts of Jogeshwari, where the Sena (UBT) is likely to field candidates, the MNS leader said.

Of the BMC’s 227 wards, the Sena (UBT) could contest 147 and the MNS 80, he said.

“Uddhavji has asked party functionaries to prepare a list of seats where we can contest and work is being done accordingly,” a Sena (UBT) leader said.

The MNS leader said Raj has made it clear that his party is not comfortable having any truck with the Congress.

A Congress leader said that they are also averse to having the MNS in the Maha Vikas Agahdi. The MVA comprises the Congress, Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

In last year’s assembly elections, the Sena (UBT) contested 95 seats and won only 20, its worst performance in the last 30 years, while the MNS drew a blank.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Thackeray cousins, who have had an uneasy relationship, are almost certain to forge an alliance, which will face its first big test in the upcoming civic body polls. The two have met several times over the past few months.

Before the BMC was placed under administrator control, the undivided Shiv Sena had controlled the corporation for more than two decades. After the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in 2022, the faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde got the party’s name and symbol, while Uddhav’s group came to be known as Sena (UBT).

Shinde’s Sena is a partner in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which also has the BJP and NCP.