Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray with MNS leader Amit Thackeray during a rally on the last day of campaigning for the civic elections, in Mumbai.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: The high-voltage campaign for the elections to 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra which include the financial capital of Mumbai drew to a close on Tuesday the results of which is expected to provide an early indicator on the public sentiment toward major political formations and ideological shifts in Maharashtra.
The voting is scheduled on 15 January 2026 followed by counting the next day.
Most significant aspect of the polls is that it covers all the five geographical reasons - Konkan, Western Maharashtra, North Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha.
Across the state, the outcome will be decided by 3.48 crore eligible voters.
Among all the corporations, Mumbai assumes greater significance as the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is the richest civic body of India whose budget is bigger than more than a dozen states.
In fact, nine of the corporations are in the jurisdiction of the Mumbai metropolitan region.
The civic polls are being held after a gap of more than six years, with the terms of these bodies having ended between 2020 and 2023 - and the delay was on account of the Covid-19 pandemic and the bunch of court cases.
After the dominance of the BJP-led Maha Yuti alliance comprising Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, the polls pose a difficult challenge for the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
From the bipolar state politics involving the two alliances, the Mumbai polls have become multipolar as the Congress preferred to stay away from MVA in the city after Uddhav preferred to ally with his cousin and MNS founder-president Raj and NCP (SP).
The ruling Maha Yuti also saw a similar situation as BJP included Shiv Sena and Ramdas Athawale-led RPI (A) by excluding Ajit Pawar in the alliance. The Congress had an alliance with Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and RPI (Gawai). The Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Asaduddin Owaisi AIMIM are contesting separately.
In Thane, the situation was somewhat similar with the Thackerays vs the BJP-Shiv Sena.
However, in Pune, NCP forged an alliance NCP (SP) for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.