After three years under administrative rule, the State Election Commission has announced elections for 29 Municipal Corporations. All elections will be conducted in a single phase.
Following the recent local body elections, which exposed internal conflicts within the Mahayuti government and tensions with opposition alliances, the strategies adopted by both the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for these 29 corporation elections will be closely watched.
All eyes are on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), one of the largest civic bodies in the country with a massive budget. The last BMC election was held in 2017, when the political landscape was entirely different. At that time, the undivided Shiv Sena–BJP alliance won a combined total of 166 seats. However, Maharashtra politics has undergone a complete 360 degrees transformation over the past eight years.
The Shiv Sena first split from the BJP and went on to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi in 2019 alongside the Congress and the NCP. In 2022, Eknath Shinde led a rebellion within the Shiv Sena, while Ajit Pawar later split from the NCP led by Sharad Pawar. These developments have dramatically reshaped political alignments across the state.
As a result, the 2026 municipal corporation elections will mark the third major political contest in this new era, with intense battles expected in key corporations such as Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The BMC has 227 seats, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has 131 seats, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has 165 seats, and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has 128 seats. These four corporations will witness direct contests between the BJP–Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) Congress in Mumbai and Thane, while Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad are likely to see a face-off between rival factions of the NCP.
Seat-sharing discussions began immediately after the election announcement. The BJP has started its first round of talks with alliance partners ahead of the BMC elections. Meetings with Mahayuti allies RPI (Athawale) and the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) are scheduled today at the Vasant Smriti office in Dadar.
At the same time, the Congress has called a meeting of district presidents and assembly in-charges from municipal areas, to be chaired by state Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will meet Shiv Sena leaders in Thane today to chalk out the party’s strategy for the municipal elections. With polls announced for Mumbai and Thane, Shinde has moved into action mode, and discussions on seat-sharing with the BJP, campaign planning, and potential candidates are expected at a key meeting scheduled this evening at Tip Top Plaza.
However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the BJP and the NCP will contest the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation elections independently in a friendly contest, to serve their respective interests within the Mahayuti alliance.
