The early votes are in, with the BJP-Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) winning 61 seats, and the Thackeray brothers—of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)—slowly closing the gap with 37. The Congress has managed just 10.
The counting of votes for the Maharashtra BMC elections 2026 began at 10 AM on Friday, as the fate of 15,931 candidates contesting for 2,969 seats across 29 municipal corporations hangs in the balance.
While Mumbaikars have only a single vote, as they have a single-member ward, other municipalities will see voters casting four votes.
Despite various issues during voting, such as the use of marker pens to mark those who had cast their votes, and problems with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), among others, the Mahayuti alliance for the BMC—comprising of the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction—seems to be poised for a clean sweep.
According to an Axis My India survey, this Mahayuti alliance could claim 131-151 seats, while the Uddhav-Raj Thackeray combo of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena respectively are likely to get just 58-68 seats.
The JVC exit poll claims that the BJP and Shiv Sena coalition would bag 138 seats while the Thackerays are predicted to get just 59.
Other exit polls followed suit, predicting anywhere between 107-138 seats for the Mahayuti, and 58-83 seats for the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS duo. The Congress has been forecast to get around 20 seats.
The elections to the country's richest civic body was last won by the undivided Shiv Sena back in 2017, continuing their two-decade grip over the state.
As per the final body, the Shiv Sena won 84 seats, while the BJP had bagged 82.
The Shiv Sena was next set to battle for the BMC in 2022, but the elections faced massive delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fast forward to 2026—the first BMC elections after the Shiv Sena split—that have seen the Eknath Shinde side unite with the BJP and the Thackeray brothers unite to survive in the state after failing to make an impact in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Yet the results reveal a divided Mumbai, with 45 per cent of respondents of a December 2025 'Marathi Manus' survey claiming that the Shiv Sena (UBT) was the "real Shiv Sena", and 61 per cent of respondents of a January 2026 C-Voter survey claiming that the Thackerays would win over the Marathi vote.
