Mahayuti alliance extends lead in BMC elections; BJP-Shinde Sena ahead in 117 wards

The Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has widened its lead in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, according to early trends from preliminary data.

As per the trends, the alliance is leading in 117 wards across Mumbai. Of these, the BJP is ahead in 86 wards, while the Shinde-led Shiv Sena is leading in 31 wards.

The Shiv Sena (UBT)-led alliance has crossed 68 leads, with Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena leading in 58 wards, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in nine, and the NCP (SP) in one ward.

Ajit Pawar’s NCP is also leading in one ward, while the Congress has continued to struggle, registering leads in only 10 wards.

According to information released by the BMC, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Foram Parmar is trailing in Ward 1, while party candidate Gita Bhandari is leading in Ward 32. From the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Varsha Tembelkar is leading in Ward 51. BJP candidates Deepak Tavde, Ujjwal Veti and Neil Somaiya are also leading in their respective wards. Congress candidate Asha Deepak Kale has won Ward 183 in Mumbai’s Dharavi area.

In the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the BJP has taken the lead in 50 of the 165 wards, displacing the Pawars. The two factions of the NCP are leading in five wards, while the Congress-UBT alliance is ahead in seven. Official PMC data shows the BJP leading in 47 wards, the NCP factions in eight and the Congress in five wards.

Among the first results declared in Pune, from Ward No. 20 in the Shankar Maharaj Math–Bibewadi area, BJP candidates Rajendra Shilimkar, Tanvi Divekar and Mansi Deshpande were elected. NCP candidate Gaurav Ghule also won from the ward, defeating BJP’s Mahendra Sundecha.

In the Thane Municipal Corporation, considered the home turf of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the BJP is leading in 21 of the 131 wards. The NCP is leading in six wards, while the UBT–MNS–NCP (SP) alliance is also ahead in six wards.

The BMC elections concluded on Thursday, recording a voter turnout of 52.94 per cent, according to data released by the State Election Commissioner (SEC) on Friday.

The elections for India’s richest municipal corporations were marked by allegations from the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance, which were later refuted by the SEC.

Held after a gap of eight years, the civic polls marked a significant exercise for Mumbai. The previous BMC elections were conducted in 2017, while the term of the last elected mayor, Kishori Pednekar, ended in March 2022. With the conclusion of the polls, Mumbai is set to get a new mayor after nearly four years.