19 May,2025 09:38 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
In the last civic election, in 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena retained its hold on one of the richest municipal corporations in Asia, winning 84 seats. Pic.Shadab Khan
If Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sources are to be believed, 227 electoral wards will go to the polls in the upcoming civic elections. While the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which was in power in Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022, increased the number of wards from 227 to 236 during its term, this was later challenged in court.
On May 6, the Supreme Court ordered the state government to issue a notification about all elections to local bodies - which had been stalled since 2022 due to litigation relating to the implementation of the reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) - within four weeks. The State Election Commission has asked all civic authorities to start preparations for the polls.
An official from the BMC's election department said, "The election process will start with the altering of ward boundaries and a lottery for reservation for various seats. There is a possibility that the number of wards will be 227."
Stating why he believed the number of wards would not be increased, the official said, "The Supreme Court has directed that the elections be conducted as per the situation prior to 2022. Although this order pertains to OBC reservation, it also applies to the number of wards."
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The five-year term of municipal corporators, elected representatives in the BMC, ended on March 7, 2022. Since then, the civic body has been overseen by a state-appointed administrator. In 2022, the number of wards was increased by nine, as per an MVA government decision. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) objected to this decision, claiming that the number of wards should be increased or decreased only after the census is carried out.
In the last civic election, in 2017, the undivided Shiv Sena retained its hold on one of the richest municipal corporations in Asia, winning 84 seats while the BJP and Congress bagged 82 and 31, respectively. Subsequently, six out of seven Maharashtra Navnirman Sena corporators joined the Shiv Sena. After the Shiv Sena split in 2022, around 26 former corporators who won in 2017 joined Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Sena faction.
March 7
Day in 2022 when corporator's term ended
