BMC Poll Early Trends: Fadnavis–Shinde Mahayuti Leads, Congress Lags

Mumbai, January 16: Early trends from the counting of votes in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections show a strong start for the BJP–Shiv Sena (Mahayuti) alliance on Friday.

As of 11:00 am, the Mahayuti is leading in around 75 wards, based on preliminary data. The BJP, led by Devendra Fadnavis, has taken the lead in 49 seats. The Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde is ahead in 26 seats.

The BJP contested 135 wards and is showing a strike rate of nearly 36 per cent. Meanwhile, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena contested 90 wards and is recording a strike rate of around 29 per cent.

Thackeray Camp Trails in Early Count

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading in 40 seats so far. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, is ahead in 8 seats.

The Congress is leading in only 7 seats, pointing to a weak early performance. Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction has taken the lead in one seat.

Official Trends Still Narrow

At the same time, official updates from BMC electoral offices show the BJP leading in 9 wards. Shiv Sena has 3 leads, while Shiv Sena (UBT) leads in 4 wards. AIMIM is ahead in 2 wards.

Counting continues for all 227 BMC seats.

Voter Turnout and Election Context

Earlier, the State Election Commission announced a 52.94 per cent voter turnout in the civic polls.

The elections took place after a gap of eight years. The previous BMC polls were held in 2017. The term of the last elected mayor, Kishori Pednekar, ended in March 2022.

As a result, Mumbai will get a new mayor after nearly four years.

Exit Polls Favour Mahayuti

Exit polls predict a clear win for the BJP–Shiv Sena alliance. They place the Thackeray brothers’ alliance in second position. Congress and its allies trail far behind.

In the 2017 BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena won 84 seats, while the BJP secured 82 seats. Together, they crossed the majority mark of 114 seats.

With counting underway, early trends point to a strong Mahayuti surge in Mumbai’s civic politics.