The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) mayoral elections are likely to be held in the first week of February 2026. The delay is attributed to technicalities as the ruling parties did not register their councilors and groups.
So far, the registration process of political parties is incomplete. The BJP with 89 councilors and the Shiv Sena with 29 councilors have not registered their respective groups, which is a mandatory exercise after the elections. The BJP will start the registration process on January 27.
Senior sources in the BJP said, “We are in no hurry as we have the numbers. It is a foregone conclusion that the mayor will be from the Mahayuti. However, there is a rethink on whether the BJP and Shiv Sena should register separately or as the Mahayuti block.”
Arrival of Fadnavis to speed up the process
With Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arriving in Mumbai on Saturday night, the BMC mayoral election and related power-sharing processes will gain momentum in the coming days. The BJP will first call a central committee meeting. He will also initiate a dialogue with Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde.
Elections for 227 seats in the BMC took place on January 15. The results were announced on January 16. The draw for the reservation of the post of mayor was completed on January 22. The BMC will have a general category mayor.
A BJP source said, “We are not going to make concessions on the BMC mayor’s post or the standing committee.” The party, however, seems ready to hand over the Improvement and BEST committee to its alliance partner, the Sena.
With an aggressive opposition comprising 65 councilors from the Shiv Sena (UBT), 24 Congress corporators and six from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), BJP leaders believe they cannot afford to antagonize Shinde and have to form a united front in the BMC.
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Speaking to the media in Davos, where he was attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Saturday, Fadnavis said, “All these speculations and theories about the BMC mayor will come to an end once he returns to Mumbai. We have no differences. Everything will be resolved amicably.”
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said, “After the BMC elections, the BJP has moved forward with the next mission – zilla Parisad elections. Leaders and workers are busy with the election campaign. Elections to 12 zilla Parisads and 125 panchayat samitis are scheduled for February 5.”
Sources noted that there is no provision requiring the mayor to be appointed immediately after the election results. Being a pan-Maharashtra party, the BJP has taken into account multiple factors, but the entire process for the appointment of the mayor is not expected to go beyond the first week of February.
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