Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 (HBTV): Twenty-nine municipal corporations across Maharashtra are going to the polls on Wednesday, bringing an end to an intense campaign and setting the stage for a decisive political contest in key urban centres including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner in most corporations, except Pune, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is fighting independently in several municipal bodies. However, in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both factions of the NCP have come together under a joint manifesto.
The principal political battle is centred on Mumbai and Pune. In Mumbai, the BJP-led Mahayuti faces the united Thackeray camp after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray joined hands on the issue of Marathi manus, turning the contest for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) into a high-stakes fight. The BMC is the country’s richest civic body, and its last elections were held in 2017.
In Pune, a major political realignment took place just ahead of polling for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Both factions of the NCP reunited following the party’s split in 2023, with Ajit Pawar joining hands again with Sharad Pawar to contest against BJP, an NDA partner. The Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, opted to go solo in the PMC after failing to arrive at an acceptable seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP.
According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. As many as 39,092 polling centres have been set up across the state.
Polling is being held on January 15 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, with counting of votes scheduled for Friday, January 16. The election programme for the general elections to 29 municipal corporations was announced on December 15, 2025.
Voting is taking place in the municipal corporations of Brihanmumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kolhapur, Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Latur, Parbhani, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Malegaon, Panvel, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahilyanagar, Ichalkaranji and Jalna.
The State Election Commission said adequate Electronic Voting Machines have been arranged for the elections, including 43,958 control units and 87,916 ballot units. For the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation alone, 11,349 control units and 22,698 ballot units have been deployed.
Except for Brihanmumbai, elections in the remaining 28 municipal corporations are being held under the multi-member ward system. In Brihanmumbai, only one member is elected from each ward, with every voter casting a single vote. In the other corporations, each ward generally has four seats, though some wards may have three or five seats, allowing voters to cast between three and five votes.
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said adequate police security arrangements have been made, including the deployment of three Additional Superintendents of Police, 63 Deputy Superintendents of Police, 56 Police Inspectors, 858 Assistant Police Inspectors or Police Sub-Inspectors, and 11,938 police personnel. In addition, 42,703 Home Guards and 57 companies of the State Reserve Police Force have been deployed for polling, counting and maintenance of law and order.
Appealing to voters, Waghmare said, ‘By voting in large numbers in municipal corporation elections, we should all contribute to shaping our city and actively participate in the democratic process. Your vote can decide the future of your city because it is invaluable.’
The Maharashtra government has declared January 15 a public holiday in areas covered by the 29 poll-bound municipal corporations. Employers have been directed to allow employees two to three hours to vote, and schools in all cities have been ordered to remain closed.
The civic polls have witnessed significant political realignments following the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in 2024. The reunion of Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray after nearly two decades, aimed at consolidating Marathi votes, and the coming together of both NCP factions in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to avoid vote division, along with several other unexpected alliances and defections, have reshaped the political landscape ahead of polling.
(ANI)