BMC elections 2026: Mumbai finally gets its date with democracy

Maharashtra will have civic elections on January 15 across 29 municipal bodies in the state. Representation pic/istock

After a delay of almost three years, exactly 34 months, elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will finally be held on January 15, 2026, with counting on January 16. The previous five-year term ended in February 2022.

Along with Mumbai, municipal elections will also be held the same day in Thane, Navi Mumbai, Mira Bhayandar, Vasai Virar, Panvel, Kalyan Dombivli, Pune and 20 other municipal corporations across Maharashtra.

The State Election Commission (SEC) announced the schedule on Monday. Including the BMC's 227 seats, a total of 2869 seats will go to the polls. State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare confirmed that the model code of conduct comes into effect immediately.

The Raj Thackeray-led MNS and the Shiv Sena (UBT) had objected to more than 11 lakh duplicate names in the voters' list and demanded that polls should not be held until corrections were made.

Graphics/istock

Asked whether the anomalies had been fixed, Waghmare said, "The poll schedule has been announced only after addressing issues that political parties raised before the commission."

The SEC said BMC officials removed several duplicate entries through field verification and software checks. "If there are any remaining duplicates, they have been marked with a star. This will help identify voters with multiple entries on voting day," the SEC said.

EC had set up a ‘pink booth' at Sir JJ School of Art in 2024. FILE PIC

Nominations will be accepted from December 23 to December 30, with scrutiny on December 31. Withdrawals must be made by January 2. The final list of candidates and symbols will be released on January 3.

The last BMC elections were held in 2017. Though the term ended in 2022, fresh polls were delayed due to a seat reservation case pending in the Supreme Court. The court has now directed that all pending local body elections in Maharashtra, including the BMC, must be completed before January 31, 2026.

Reacting to the poll announcement, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "I am sure people will once again vote for development and progress."

A kite flying challenge

Mumbaikars cast their vote during BMC elections in Jogeshwari in 2017. File pic/NIMESH DAVE

The January 15 polling date could create a hiccup for the BJP, as a large section of Mumbai's Gujarati community traditionally travels to Surat and Vadodara for Uttarayan, the kite flying festival, on January 14. Families usually spend two to three days celebrating, and with the festival and polling falling back-to-back, many voters may be out of Mumbai on voting day. While older voters may stay back, younger and first-time voters are more likely to prioritise travel, raising concerns about turnout among a demographic considered part of the BJP's core support base.

Dates to remember

Voting Day
January 15 (Thursday)

Voting time
7:30 am to 5:30 pm

Counting Day
January 16 (Friday)

Campaigning
Campaigning ends 48 hours before polling; all political ads prohibited after 5:30 pm on Jan 14, 2026

Stats for BMC

Polling stations
10,111

Control units
11,349

Ballot units
22,698

Other dates

>> Nominations December 23-30, 2025
>> Scrutiny

December 31, 2025
>> Withdrawal January 2, 2026
>> Symbol allotment and final list
January 3, 2026

Mobile phones
Not permitted inside polling stations

Pink polling stations
To be staffed entirely by women, in areas with high women voter turnout. Information available on the Matadhikar app

Total seats
2869

Including
227 seats of BMC

Rs 15 L

Voter Assistance
‘Matadhikar' mobile app (voter details, booth info, candidate lists). Details also on: https://mahasecvoterlist.in/

Source: State Election Commission (SEC)