Nominations can be filed between Dec 23 and Dec 30, 2025, with the scrutiny of nominations scheduled for Dec 31. Candidates have until January 2, 2026, to withdraw their candidature, and the allotment of election symbols along with the publication of the final candidate list will take place on Jan 3, 2026
Maharashtra SEC holds press conference on local elections schedule. PIC/ SATEJ SHINDE
The polling dates for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections 2026 have been released by the State Election Commission (SEC). The elections would be held in a single phase on January 15, 2026. The polling would be conducted on 227 wards in the Greater Mumbai region. The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on January 16.
The election code of conduct comes into effect from December 15, 2025.
State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and Secretary Suresh Kakani addressed a press conference at Sahyadari Guest House, Malabar Hill, on Monday at 4 pm.
Nominations can be filed between December 23 and December 30, 2025, with the scrutiny of nominations scheduled for December 31. Candidates have until January 2, 2026, to withdraw their candidature, and the allotment of election symbols along with the publication of the final candidate list will take place on January 3, 2026.
Twenty-eight of the 29 civic corporations are set to have multi-member wards. The voter turnout is expected to increase significantly by 3 crore 48 lakh. In Mumbai alone, there are 10,111 polling stations.
Nomination forms for the elections will need to be submitted offline, as per the latest instructions from the State Election Commission.
Earlier, on November 27, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) extended the deadlines for finalising voter lists in the 29 municipal corporations across the state. This move aims to provide additional time for voter verification and to ensure the accuracy of the electoral rolls.
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.
The term for elected Corporators in the BMC officially ended in March 2022, leading to the appointment of the Municipal Commissioner as administrator to run the city's affairs until new elections.
The Supreme Court of India directed the State Election Commission to complete all local body elections by 31 January 2026, as the polls have been due since 2022.
The estimated budget of the BMC for 2025-26 is Rs. 74,427 crore, and expenditure stands at Rs. 43,162 crore, representing 58 per cent of the total budget allocated to development projects.
The BMC polls are expected to witness a direct contest between two major alliances in the state: the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Mahayuti, which currently governs Maharashtra, comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The main opposition alliance, the MVA, includes the Indian National Congress, the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, and the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP-SP.
After remaining politically apart for nearly two decades, the Thackeray brothers, Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray, have reunited. The move is being seen as a significant development in Mumbai’s political landscape, with the alliance expected to reshape electoral dynamics in the civic polls.
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