India's richest civic body goes to the BJP. Why this matters

The BJP-led alliance has won control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

In the BMC, the BJP won 89 out of 227 seats, and the Shiv Sena of Shinde bagged 29. With this, the two allies crossed the halfway mark of 114. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the BJP has won a decisive mandate and that the state “has shown full faith in the BJP”.

The development comes as a blow to the Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, whose Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) joined forces after two decades.

Polling for 2,869 seats across 893 wards in the 29 civic bodies was held on Thursday. A voter turnout of 52.94 per cent was recorded. In all, the future of 15,931 candidates, including 1,700 in Mumbai, was up for grabs.

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But what happened? And why does this matter?

Let’s take a closer look.

What happened?

The BJP-led alliance has won the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, with the Thackerays losing grip on Mumbai’s civic body after 25 years. The Mahayuti has come to power in 25 out of 29 civic bodies across Maharashtra.

The BJP won 89 out of 227 seats, up from 82 in 2017, and the Shiv Sena of Shinde ended up with 29. With this, the two allies crossed the halfway mark of 114.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) managed to retain its presence in the city it once ruled, even though its tally fell to 65. In 2017, the undivided Sena, which split in 2022, grabbed 84 seats. The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, with whom Uddhav had joined hands, won six seats while the Congress tally was 24 and the NCP was three.

Why this matters

Because the BJP is now in charge of India’s richest civic body. The BMC’s budget for 2025–26 stands at Rs 74,400 crore. That is not only a 14 per cent increase from the previous year’s estimate of around Rs 65,181 crore, but it is more than some of India’s smaller states. Goa, for example, has a budget of Rs 28,162 crore, while Arunachal Pradesh is at Rs 39,842 crore, Sikkim at Rs 16,196 crore, and Tripura at Rs 31,412 crore.

There are many reasons why taking charge of the BMC matters. The first is gaining control of the city’s infrastructure and civic services. Mumbai, being India’s financial capital, is also a symbol of prestige. The BMC also assigns contracts and infrastructure projects, which in turn result in increased financial clout and political influence.

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The BJP has also prised apart the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s decades-old grip on the BMC. This is despite Uddhav and Raj putting aside a decade of estrangement to come together to take on the BJP-led Mahayuti. This is undoubtedly a blow to the ‘Thackeray brand’ and shows that support for their ‘Marathi Manoos’ politics is eroding on its own turf.

The BJP, on the other hand, has emerged victorious after projecting itself as the party of development. This also lays the groundwork for the BJP ahead of several crucial state and national elections slated for 2026.

Meanwhile, the Congress has been further marginalised in Mumbai. The reunion of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction also seems to have flopped.

With Mumbai’s civic machinery now in BJP hands, the party has secured not just a municipal victory, but a strategic urban stronghold that could shape Maharashtra’s political landscape for years ahead.

BJP celebrates, Oppn hits back

BJP party leaders are celebrating.

Fadnavis has given the credit for the results to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We fought these elections under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership with a vision of development, which is why we received a record-breaking mandate. These results make it clear that Maharashtra has great confidence in Prime Minister Modi,” Fadnavis said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane was quoted as saying, “Whoever speaks for Hindu interests will rule Maharashtra.” Rane also took a dig at Uddhav, saying in a video, “Uddhavji ani penguin la… Jai Shri Ram.”

He also praised Fadnavis and Shinde, saying, “Under their leadership, we are fully prepared to install our mayor in municipal corporations across Maharashtra.”

State Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar thanked the citizens of Mumbai.

“First of all, I want to thank the people of Mumbai for reposing faith in the BJP alliance. This mandate has been given for the development of Mumbai. We have earned the trust of Mumbai’s residents through key projects like the Metro Rail Network, Coastal Road, and Trans Harbour Link, and this result reflects their desire for the city’s progress,” Narwekar said.

Some in the Shiv Sena (UBT) remain defiant. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has claimed that the full results will only be out hours later and that the figures emerging are false.

“There is a growing clamour that Shiv Sena candidates are winning. Our counting hasn’t even begun in 100 places yet. BJP’s numbers will gradually decline,” Raut claimed.

But Shinde slammed Raut’s statement on the results, claiming that the Sena leader always blames the Election Commission. “Questioning the results is an insult to the public,” Shinde said.

With inputs from agencies