Mumbai civic polls: BJP wrests control of BMC; Shiv Sena (UBT) relegated to Opposition

In the second phase of the local body elections held in Mumbai, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the highest number of seats in Mumbai, while Uddhav Thackeray’s party Shiv Sena (UBT) came in second and took a “strong” opposition position in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the first time.

While the BJP is leading with 89 seats, its alliance partner Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has 29 seats in the BMC. Shiv Sena (UBT) won 65 seats, MNS won six seats and Congress managed to survive with 24 seats. Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won three seats, while Sharad Pawar’s NCP won one seat. What was surprising was that the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslims (AIMIM) won eight seats, while the Samajwadi Party won two seats. With this, BJP and Shiv Sena crossed the half-mark of 114.

“I am grateful for people’s trust. In this election, they gave a mandate for the development agenda and showed that they want development. I am proud to be a Hindutvavadi as my soul is Hindutava, which cannot be separated from development and Hindutva. Our Hindutva is broad-minded, all-encompassing,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday, January 16, 2026.

The results of 227 divisions of the Mumbai civic body, in which 1,700 candidates competed, were declared on Friday, January 16, 2026. For the BJP, the results confirm its position as a dominant force but falls short of a definitive takeover as the Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS and Congress will form an Opposition. The BJP won in many Gujarati-dominated middle-class groups and in north Mumbai such as Wards 3, 4, 10 and 20, which were Congress strongholds before the 2017 elections.

Future of Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS

For the last two decades, the indivisible Shiv Sena had been in control of the BMC. In the 2017 elections, the indivisible Shiv Sena came to power winning 84 seats and the BJP won 82 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) approached this contest as a battle to retain power and reassert its authority over India’s richest civic body.The BJP sees this as an opportunity to shed its long-standing role as the BMC’s junior partner and also position itself as the leading force in Mumbai’s civic body. To strengthen its bid, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena has revived the Marathi identity issue by forging an alliance with MNS, the party of its estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, after two decades.

Shiv Sena’s (UBT) criticism of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project has also worked in Dharavi’s Ward 185; BJP candidate and former Corporator Ravi Raja lost to Shiv Sena UBT candidate TM Jagdish. In the 2017 elections, Congress won wards 183 and 184, undivided Shiv Sena won wards 185, 186 and 187, undivided NCP secured wards 188 and MNS won wards 189. Out of seven seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) won four seats with 185, 186, 187, 189, while Congress retained its two seats in wards 183 and 184. Mahayuti ally Shiv Sena could win only one seat, ward 188.

Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS won in Marathi-majority population areas including Worli, Dharavi, Prabhadevi and Parel district. For example, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar won from Ward 199, a traditional Shiv Sena stronghold. MNS won in the district covering Shivaji Park and Dadar district.

“We should consider this as a victory as Marathi voters have come to elect Shiv Sena (UBT), but the Marathi vote base has its limitations,” said Pune-based political analyst and editor Suhas Kulkarni. Anubhav magazine.

According to data, Shiv Sena (UBT) was deemed more acceptable in Marathi pockets like Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Byculla, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Prabhadevi and Andheri. In Ward 192, MNS won Dadar and Shivaji Park. Mr. Kulkarni also noted that the result was cautiously encouraging as MNS was in revival mode.

Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena

These are also the first BMC elections for the Shiv Sena (UBT) after the split as this in itself was a direct test in Mumbai, contesting directly with the Eknath Shinde faction. The contest was fierce in 68 wards in Marathi-dominated areas where the Shiv Sena competed directly with the Shinde Sena; Shiv Sena (UBT) won 64 seats and Eknath Shinde-led Sena won 29 seats, proving that they have the power of the people. For example, in Ward 194 (Prabhadevi/S-South), Nishikant Shinde of Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 15,592 votes and won, defeating Samadhan Sarvankar, senior member of the Shinde faction, by a narrow margin of 603 votes.

Surprise entry from AIMIM

Amidst the BJP’s leading performance in Mumbai, the AIMIM also made notable gains, winning eight seats in Muslim-dominated districts. AIMIM candidate Mehzabin Khan won from Ward 134, another win was in Ward 137; Patel Shameer won by 4,370 votes and Khairunisa Akbar Hussain won in Ward 145.

Congress shrunk in Mumbai but thrived in other civic bodies

The Congress started well with its candidate Asha Kale and Ashraf Azmi winning Dharavi Ward 183 and Sion-Matunga Ward 165 and managed to get 24 seats in Mumbai; This is an indicator of poor performance.According to the 2017 results, they won 31 seats.

Mr. Kulkarni said, “The overall results show that the Congress remains in Opposition as the only party that can take on the BJP in Maharashtra, as in other Municipal Corporations, Congress’ allies are getting hardly any seats. The results show that the Congress has started working on the ground.”