Key wins, Thackerays’ fall, and BJP’s rise: Maharashtra civic poll results decoded

Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance delivered a commanding mandate in Friday’s local body elections, winning 23 of the state’s 29 municipal corporations and capturing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the first time.

The outcome marks a historic shift in state politics, ending a 25-year Thackeray stronghold over Mumbai’s civic body and cementing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the dominant force in urban Maharashtra.

BJP emerges as the principal force
The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Mumbai and 22 other municipal corporations, decisively outpacing both the Opposition and its Mahayuti allies. With this, the party takes control of India’s richest civic body for the first time since the BMC’s inception. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who spearheaded a development-focused campaign, hailed the results. Modi thanked voters on X, stating that Maharashtra had “blessed the NDA’s agenda of pro-people good governance,” and praised the alliance’s deepening bond with the people.

Thackeray citadel falls in Mumbai
The BMC result drew the most attention. For the first time in 25 years, the Thackeray family lost Mumbai, the political and financial backbone of the Shiv Sena. Despite a rare reunion between Uddhav and Raj Thackeray and a strong Marathi nativist campaign, the Opposition could not stem the BJP’s surge.

In Mumbai, the BJP won 89 seats. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, contesting 90 seats with the BJP, secured 29, while Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) took 65, concentrated largely in south-central Mumbai. The Congress, despite being Maharashtra’s largest party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, fell to a historic low in the BMC with 24 seats.

BMC results (227 seats)

• BJP: 89

• Shiv Sena (UBT): 65

• Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde): 29

• Congress: 24

• MNS: 6

• AIMIM: 8

• NCP: 3

• Samajwadi Party: 2

• NCP (Sharad Pawar): 1

Other key municipal corporations

• Nagpur (151): BJP 102, Congress 34

• Pune (165): BJP 96, NCP 20, Congress 15

• Pimpri-Chinchwad (128): BJP 84, NCP 36, Shiv Sena 6

• Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (115): BJP 57, AIMIM 33, Shiv Sena 13

• Latur (70): Congress 43, BJP 22

• Kolhapur (81): Congress 34, BJP 26

• Nashik (122): BJP 72, Shiv Sena 26, Shiv Sena (UBT) 15

• Solapur (102): BJP 87, Shiv Sena 4, Congress 2

Statewide verdict: Opposition falters
The Mahayuti alliance’s dominance was evident: 23 corporations to the Opposition’s six. Even the reunification of NCP factions under Ajit and Sharad Pawar could not prevent losses in key areas, including Pimpri-Chinchwad. The Congress retained only three corporations: Latur, Chandrapur, and Bhiwandi Nizampur. The BJP’s growing influence was particularly visible in the Mumbai–Nashik–Pune industrial belt and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over a fifth of Maharashtra’s population.

Fadnavis described the mandate as a clear endorsement of the government’s development agenda and “inclusive Hindutva,” highlighting voters’ trust in the BJP’s urban vision. The results signal a significant reshaping of Maharashtra’s political landscape, weakening regional heavyweights and elevating Fadnavis’s stature both within the state and nationally.