The elections for Mumbai civic body, BMC, will be held on January 15 and the results will be declared on January 16. A total of 29 municipal corporations, 32 district councils, and 336 panchayat samitis will go to polls on January 15, painting a picture of the political area of Maharashtra.
The announcement comes just days before the announcement of results for the local body election of Maharashtra, that were held on Dec 2. However, the HC later pulled up the state election commission over a staggered process to conduct elections on various local bodies in the state.
Reacting to the announcement, CM Devendra Fadnavis said that Mahayuti will contest the elections in Mumbai and, considering the work done by the state government, “the people will once again hand over Mumbai to us in the form of a municipal corporation, this is my belief…”
It said the polling now should be held on remaining local bodies on Dec 20, and the results on Dec 21.
BMC election 2026 full schedule
The process of BMC elections will begin on Dec 23 with the filing of nomination. The detailed scheduled is mentioned below:
- Filing of nomination: December 23-December 30
- Scrutiny of nominations filed: December 31
- Last date for withdrawal of nominations: January 2, 2026
- Allotment of election symbol and final list of contesting candidates: January 3
- Voting: January 15
- Counting of votes: January 16
Why BMC election is important
BMC is one of the biggest and crucial civic body across the country. It is also the richest local body, with budget going in several thousand crore rupees. For years now, the civic body is run by the government appointed administrators as elected members’ terms have already expired.
The local body elections have been delayed for over five years due to several legal issues. These include disputes over the OBC quota, the state government’s move to take control of ward delimitation from the State Election Commission (SEC), and the earlier MVA government’s decision to increase the number of wards.
Since the last polls, political dynamics have drastically changed in the state with two Shiv Senas and NCPs factions joining the battle, apart from existing contenders. Also, the Thackeray brothers will be fighting the elections together after decades, posing another challenge for the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
The BMC elections usually tell the mood of the voters on the ground and present a political picture of the state.