The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance was set for a decisive victory in the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections, consolidating its dominance across Maharashtra’s urban landscape. As per the latest trends from the vote counting on Friday afternoon, the state's ruling coalition was leading in 19 of the 29 municipal corporations, including key cities such as Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Kalyan-Dombivali, Kolhapur, Latur, Baramati and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The trends indicate a strong performance by the BJP across regions, while opposition formations have struggled to match the ruling coalition’s momentum.

The voting was held on Thursday. According to the State Election Commission, elections were held for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations, with 15,900-plus candidates in the fray and 3.48 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots. A total of 39,092 polling centres were set up across Maharashtra. Overall voter turnout stood at 54.77 per cent, marginally lower than the 55.53 per cent recorded in the previous civic elections in 2017.

The newly constituted Ichalkaranji municipal corporation had recorded the highest turnout at 69.76 percent.

Mumbai, which alone accounted for nearly 1,700 candidates, registered around 50 percent polling, lower than the turnout in the last Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election.

Early trends showed  the Mahayuti alliance leading in over 1,400 of the 2,869 seats across the state. The combined efforts of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, as well as the joint contest by the two Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar, have had limited impact, with the opposition trailing in most civic bodies.

The BJP has once again emerged as the dominant force, leading in major municipal corporations such as Nagpur, Pune, Thane, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. In the Marathwada region, the party is ahead in Jalna and Nanded, while the Congress managed to retain its influence in Latur.

Reports also indicate that 65 candidates from 10 municipal corporations were elected unopposed ahead of the January 15 polls. Of these, the BJP accounted for 43 unopposed wins, followed by 18 candidates from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and two from Ajit Pawar’s NCP.

Kalyan-Dombivali in Thane district recorded the highest number of unopposed candidates, with 20 winners.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region, which accounts for over 20 percent of Maharashtra’s population, has largely swung in favour of the ruling coalition. Trends suggest the Mahayuti is leading in eight of the nine municipal corporations in the region. The lone exception is Vasai-Virar, where the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi led by former MLA Hitendra Thakur is ahead, followed by the BJP.

The outcome in Pimpri-Chinchwad, considered one of the richest civic bodies after Mumbai and previously controlled by Sharad Pawar’s undivided NCP until 2022, is being closely watched as an indicator of shifting urban political equations.

The contest for the BMC has emerged as the most significant political battle in the civic polls. With 227 wards and more than 1.24 crore registered voters, the BMC governs India’s richest municipal corporation with an annual budget exceeding Rs 74,400 crore. If current trends hold, the BJP is poised to secure the mayor’s post in Mumbai for the first time, bringing to an end the Shiv Sena’s uninterrupted control of the civic body since 1997.

The elections, held after a four-year delay, were also the first BMC polls since the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena, adding to their political significance.

Several high-profile defeats marked the Mumbai results, with relatives of prominent political leaders losing from their respective wards. Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Waikar’s daughter was defeated by a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate, while the son of Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Sarvankar lost to a Sena (UBT) rival. Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli’s daughter and former minister Nawab Malik’s brother also suffered defeats.

Outside Mumbai, Shrikant Pangarkar, one of the accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, won the Jalna municipal corporation election as an independent candidate, despite his induction into the Shiv Sena being put in abeyance following public outcry.

Polling in Mumbai saw wide variations in voter participation across wards. Suburban Bhandup recorded the highest turnout at 64.53 percent, while Colaba in south Mumbai registered the lowest at 20.88 percent.

The overall outcome marks a significant reversal for the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which had controlled the BMC for 25 years, from 1997 to 2022. In the 2017 BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena had emerged as the single largest party with 84 seats, narrowly ahead of the BJP’s 82, while the Congress, NCP, MNS and other smaller parties shared the remaining seats.

Controversies
The civic polls were also marred by controversies and sharp political confrontations. Several voters and opposition leaders alleged irregularities, including the use of blue marker pens instead of indelible ink to mark voters’ fingers, claims that such markings could be easily removed using sanitiser or acetone, and discrepancies in voter lists that reportedly prevented eligible voters from casting their ballots.

Opposition leaders, including Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, questioned the absence of VVPATs in the BMC elections and alleged a lack of transparency in the polling process. Congress leaders echoed these concerns, accusing the State Election Commission of administrative lapses and flawed electoral rolls.

Videos circulating on social media showing alleged cash distribution and complaints of EVM malfunctions further fuelled the controversy. While BJP leaders accused opposition supporters of attempting bogus voting by removing ink marks, the State Election Commission defended its procedures, stating that the use of marker pens did not violate prescribed polling rules.

Despite the allegations and political acrimony, the ruling coalition has hailed the outcome as a strong endorsement of its governance. BJP leaders have described the civic poll results, particularly in Mumbai, as an unprecedented victory and a clear signal of the party’s growing acceptance among urban voters in Maharashtra.

BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "You all have witnessed that today BJP and alliance parties - Mahayuti - have registered a great victory in BMC polls. This shows that BJP and NDA's acceptance is ever increasing under the leadership of PM Modi. Recently, we won a majority for the first time in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala Municipal Corporation polls. Today, BJP-NDA- Mahayuti have got un precedented victory in BMC elections, which is arguably Asia's biggest municipal corporation. The BJP is thankful to the people of Maharashtra for this victory."