'Maha' Civic Battle Explained: Why Mahayuti–MVA Fight for Mumbai's Cash-rich BMC and 28 Cities Matters

Maharashtra is headed for a major electoral test in its urban centres as elections to 29 municipal corporations, including the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), will be held on January

15, setting up a direct contest between the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) announced the poll schedule on Monday, acting on a Supreme Court directive that fixed January 31 next year as the deadline for completing long-pending local body elections in the state. The top court had earlier criticised the SEC for delays in holding the civic polls.High-Stakes Civic Polls Across MaharashtraThe elections will cover 2,869 seats across 29 municipal corporations, with more than 3.48 crore voters eligible to cast their ballots. Vote counting will take place on January 16.Mumbai alone will elect 227 corporators, one from each ward. In the remaining 28 civic bodies, voters will elect between three and five corporators per ward, depending on the corporation.

This will be the first municipal corporation election in Maharashtra after the political splits in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2023, developments that significantly altered the state’s political landscape.Ruling Alliance vs Opposition BlocThe ruling Mahayuti comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. It will face the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the BJP and its allies will contest together in most civic bodies, with efforts underway to finalise seat-sharing arrangements. However, friendly contests are expected in some key cities, including Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.Mumbai Civic Body a Key BattlegroundThe BMC, Asia’s richest municipal corporation with a budget exceeding Rs 74,000 crore for 2025–26, is seen as the most crucial prize. The undivided Shiv Sena ruled the BMC for over two decades until 2017, with the BJP as a junior partner.For the opposition, the Mumbai election is being closely watched as a test of post-split political realignments, including renewed cooperation between the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).Election Schedule and ProcessAccording to State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare, nominations will be filed between December 23 and December 30. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on December 31, while January 2 is the last date for withdrawals. The final list of candidates and symbol allocation will be published on January 3.Notifications for the BMC election will be issued on December 16, while those for the remaining corporations will follow on December 18. Voting will take place from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

The model code of conduct has come into force in all poll-bound municipal corporation areas, restricting policy decisions by the government in these regions, except for emergency and disaster-related measures.

Seats, Reservations and Poll InfrastructureAcross the 29 corporations, there are 893 wards and 2,869 seats. Of these, 1,442 seats are reserved for women, 341 for Scheduled Castes, 77 for Scheduled Tribes and 759 for Other Backward Classes.The SEC has arranged 39,147 polling stations statewide, including 10,111 in Mumbai, and said adequate electronic voting machines have been deployed.Voter Lists and New Civic BodiesThe elections will use voter lists updated ward-wise as of July 1, 2025. The SEC clarified it does not have the authority to add or delete names, as electoral rolls are sourced from the Election Commission of India, though steps have been taken to identify duplicate entries.Two of the 29 corporations, Ichalkaranji and Jalna, are newly created. Among the remaining civic bodies, the terms of five ended in 2020, 18 in 2022 and three in 2023, contributing to the prolonged delay in elections.Acting on Supreme Court orders, the SEC earlier conducted elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats in phases this month.