Polling is underway across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, marking the end of an intense campaign and setting the stage for a decisive political contest in key urban centres including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad
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Thane recorded a slow start to polling on Thursday as voting began for the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) elections 2026, with voter turnout standing at 8 per cent till 9.30 am, according to civic officials.
Polling underway across 29 municipal corporations
Polling is underway across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, marking the end of an intense campaign and setting the stage for a decisive political contest in key urban centres including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
Mahayuti alliance contests civic polls together
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections together under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is contesting independently in most municipal corporations.
However, in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both factions of the NCP have come together and are contesting on a joint manifesto.
Mumbai and Pune emerge as key battlegrounds
The main political battle remains centred on Mumbai and Pune. In Mumbai, the BJP-led Mahayuti is facing the united Thackeray camp after Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands ahead of the civic polls on the issue of the Marathi Manus. The contest is crucial as it involves control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body. The last BMC elections were held in 2017.
Political realignment ahead of Pune civic polls
In Pune, a significant political realignment took place ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, with both factions of the NCP coming together following the party’s split in 2023. Ajit Pawar reunited with Sharad Pawar to contest against NDA ally BJP in Pune. Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, opted to contest independently after failing to finalise a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP.
Voter strength, candidates and polling centres
According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. As many as 39,092 polling centres have been set up across the state.
Polling schedule and counting date
Polling is being conducted on January 15 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, with counting of votes scheduled for Friday, January 16.
The State Election Commission announced the election programme for the 29 municipal corporations on December 15, 2025. Accordingly, voting is being held for the municipal corporations of Brihanmumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kolhapur, Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Latur, Parbhani, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Malegaon, Panvel, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahilyanagar, Ichalkaranji and Jalna.
EVM deployment across Maharashtra
The Election Commission said adequate Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been arranged for the polls, including 43,958 control units and 87,916 ballot units. For the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation alone, 11,349 control units and 22,698 ballot units have been deployed.
Multi-member ward system in most civic bodies
Except for Brihanmumbai, elections in the remaining 28 municipal corporations are being conducted under the multi-member ward system. In Brihanmumbai, where only one member is elected from each ward, voters cast a single vote. In the other corporations, wards generally have four seats, though some have three or five seats. Accordingly, voters in these areas are required to cast between three and five votes, as per State Election Commission guidelines.
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