In the second phase of local body elections held in Mumbai, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the highest number of seats in Mumbai, while Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) finished second and to take the position of a “strong” Opposition for the first time in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The BJP is leading with 89 seats, while its alliance partner Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has 29 seats in the BMC. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has won 65 seats, the MNS has won six seats, and the Congress managed to survive with 24 seats. Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won three seats, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP won one seat. The surprising element was the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) winning eight seats, while the Samajwadi Party got two seats. With this the BJP and the Shiv Sena has crossed the half mark of 114.
“I am grateful for people’s trust. They have given a mandate for the agenda of development in this election, showing that they want development. I am proud of being Hindutvavadi as my soul is Hindutava, which cannot be separated from development and Hindutva. Our Hindutva is broad-minded, it is all-inclusive,” said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday (January 16, 2026).
The results for 227 wards of the Mumbai civic body, wherein 1,700 candidates contested, were declared on Friday (January 16, 2026). For the BJP, the results affirm its position as a dominant force but stop short of a decisive takeover as the Shiv Sena (UBT), the MNS, and the Congress will form an Opposition. The BJP won in several middle-class, Gujarati-dominated pockets, and north Mumbai, such as Wards 3, 4, 10, and 20, which had been a stronghold of the Congress before the 2017 elections.
Future of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS
Over the last two decades, the undivided Shiv Sena had control over the BMC. In the 2017 elections, the undivided Shiv Sena came to power after winning 84 seats and the BJP got 82 seats. The Shiv Sena (UBT) approached this contest as a battle to retain power and reassert its authority over India’s richest civic body.The BJP sees it as an opportunity to shed its long-standing role as junior partner in BMC and also to position itself as a principal power in Mumbai’s civic body. To strengthen its bid, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena forged an alliance with the MNS, the party of his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray after two decades, reviving the issue of Marathi identity.
The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s criticism on Dharavi Redevelopment Project also worked in Dharavi’s Ward 185, BJP candidate and former Corporator Ravi Raja lost to Shiv Sena UBT candidate T.M. Jagdish. In 2017 elections, Congress won ward 183 and 184, undivided Shiv Sena won ward 185, 186, and 187, undivided NCP secured ward 188, and ward 189 was won by MNS. Out of the seven seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) won four seats with 185, 186, 187, 189, while Congress retained their two seats in ward 183 and ward 184. Mahayuti ally Shiv Sena could win only one seat that is ward 188.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the MNS won in Marathi-dominated population wards, including Worli, Dharavi, Prabhadevi, and the Parel region. For example, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar won from Ward 199, which is the Shiv Sena’s traditional bastion. The MNS won in the ward comprising Shivaji Park and the Dadar area.
“We need to see this as a victory as Marathi voters turned up to get the Shiv Sena (UBT) elected, but the Marathi vote base has limitations,” said Suhas Kulkarni, a political analyst and editor of Pune-based Anubhav magazine.
According to data, the Shiv Sena (UBT) was seen as more acceptable in the Marathi pockets such as Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Byculla, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Prabhadevi, and Andheri. In Ward 192, the MNS won Dadar and Shivaji Park. Mr. Kulkarni also pointed out that the outcome is cautiously encouraging for the MNS as they are in a revival mode.
Shiv Sena Vs Shiv Sena
These are also the first BMC elections for the Shiv Sena (UBT) after the split as it was a direct test in Mumbai on its own, making the contest directly with the Eknath Shinde faction. The contest was fierce in 68 wards in Marathi-dominated areas, where the Shiv Sena contested directly with Shinde Sena, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) proving that people’s mandate is with them by winning 64 seats and Eknath Shinde-led Sena 29 seats. For example, in Ward 194 (Prabhadevi/G-South), Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Nishikant Shinde received 15,592 votes and won, defeating the Shinde faction’s veteran Samadhan Sarvankar by a narrow margin of 603 votes.
AIMIM’s surprise entry
Amid the BJP’s leading performance in Mumbai, the AIMIM also registered notable gains in Muslim-dominated wards, winning eight seats. AIMIM candidate Mehzabin Khan won from Ward 134, another win was in Ward 137, where Patel Shameer won by 4,370 votes, and Khairunisa Akbar Hussain won in Ward 145.
Congress shrinks in Mumbai but did good in other civic bodies
The Congress started well with its candidate Asha Kale and Ashraf Azmi won the Dharavi Ward 183 and the Sion-Matunga Ward 165, and managed to get 24 seats in Mumbai, which denotes poor performance going bythe 2017 results, where they won 31 seats.
Mr. Kulkarni said, “The overall results indicate that the Congress is the only party left in Opposition that can fight with the BJP in Maharashtra, as in other Municipal Corporation’s, allies of the Congress have hardly got seats. The results show the Congress has started working on the ground.”
Published – January 18, 2026 02:01 am IST
